Waking Up
by Awesomely-Saucy
Summary: Wanting to start her whole life again after waking up from a coma following a traumatic experience, Meredith Greene moves all the way across the Atlantic to Beacon Hills. She soon gets caught up in the Pack and their world. This might just be the new start she needed. But maybe it's just bad timing...unknown to her the Alpha pack are moving in. Derek Hale & (an awesome) OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**  
**_"Treading water"_**

Waking up was like emerging from a pool after treading water for an hour. Your brain is foggy and your limbs heavy from exhaustion. Your dreams cast away like water dripping from your face. And then there's the harsh reality of life that you have to face.

* * *

My feet splashed in the shallow puddle on the pavement outside the door of the car. I clambered from the Land Rover, reluctant excitement bubbling up. I tried not to show my parents, tried to keep up the mask of annoyance that they had moved me (however many miles California is from England) miles across the Atlantic, but I wasn't a grudge holding type of person, especially with my family. I mean that's what they're there for, right? To forgive anything you do.  
I looked through the slight fog and drizzle (seriously, wasn't California supposed to be constantly sunny and hot?) to our new house. Unfortunately, my family knew me too well. It was my idea of a perfect house. Not too big, not too modern, just... a happy medium. It was painted a gorgeous colour of blue that glowed even in the grey day with a white border and door. There was a porch, just like in an American film.  
Our car was parked on the drive that ran up to the garage next to the house and there was a large front garden, or 'yard' as they said over here. I was really going to have to look up American terms if I was going to fit in. I turned to my family who had joined me out of the car, exchanging knowing, smug looks. My brother saw me looking and grinned then quickly grabbed his backpack and sprinted to the porch. I just sighed, swallowing a smile and followed him in. There was a large entrance hall that was painted pale blues and greys, but instead of looking cold, the colours were inviting and calm. Stairs wound up to a second floor and I followed Reese's banging footsteps upwards. His face popped from across the hall.  
"Mer, I totally beat you, sucker!"  
I heard the quick light steps of my younger sister Lizbeth behind me.  
"Which rooms biggest?!" she asked, breathless. Our parents had told us we could take our own pick of the bedrooms, so long as it wasn't theirs. Naturally, Reese had gotten upstairs first and bagged the bigger room. There were another four bedrooms in the house, and I raced Lizbeth, who surged forward to one of the doors. I picked the one at the far end of the hall and whipped it open. Expecting a bedroom, or even a bathroom I was faced with steep winding stairs. I gasped and sprinted up them. They led to a small-ish room in the roof of the house with a slanted ceiling that I would almost bang my head on towards the edge of the room. There were two windows overlooking the street and one behind me with a view of our overgrown gard- back yard.  
I instantly knew it was mine.

Lizbeth managed to bargain the biggest room beside our parents' from Reese by threatening to release some unfortunate pictures and/or information from his childhood before he started school and he settled for the next biggest. My sister is an evil genius, even If she is only fourteen. By the time we had chosen our rooms, our parents had managed to carry all the luggage we had taken in the car into the house. Our furniture and clothes and everything else had been shipped over a couple of days ago and the house had already been decorated, apart from the bedrooms so for our first weekend in Beacon Hills we wouldn't have to do too much unpacking. By the evening my parents, with Reese and mine help  
had set up the bare furniture in the bedrooms, which was hard work, especially trying to fit it up the small staircase to my bedroom. It was dark when we managed to set up the spare bed. Reese volunteered to go to the shops and get 'groceries', mostly to get out of helping unpack the remaining boxes, and I followed suit, eager to get outside and see the rest of Beacon Hills. As a condition of the move, he'd been given a new car on his seventeenth birthday, a beat up dark grey Chevy pickup truck. It suited him perfectly, and I was glad for the guaranteed ride to school. We got in, and he cranked up the radio, which happened to be playing some Rihanna and set off.  
"Oh my god, can we listen to some real music please?!" I asked, reaching for the knob. Reese swatted my hand away.  
"Hey this _is_ real music! And it's good too!" he said.  
I shook my head. "Sometimes, my dear brother, I fear for your sanity." I swapped to an alternative station, and he just sighed resignedly.  
"So...where are the shops again?" he asked to change the subject. I shrugged,  
"Why the hell are you asking me, I have less of a clue than you!" I said, smiling. "just drive, we'll find it"  
We passed a large green that I noticed would be perfect for my early  
morning runs and walks with Indigo, our black Labrador and a quaint coffee shop that I knew we would stop by every morning before school for Lizbeth to get her coffee fix. We drove through the streets and passed the high school we'd all be starting at in two days time. Being a Friday night, we had the weekend to prepare and then we would be going to school there on Monday. I was the most nervous out of us. Reese and Lizbeth had always been socially amazing; Reese was good at sports, and in England he'd had endless girlfriends, and I knew that with his English accent girls would be throwing themselves at him. He would be starting as a senior, Lizbeth was starting her sophomore this year, and I knew she would be instantly as popular as our brother. She had the same good looks and winning smile, the same sportiness we all possessed but a confidence I lacked. Instead, I knew that when I started my junior year on Monday along with everyone else, I would be a total wallflower people would ask for help and completely forget by the end of the lesson. But I was fine with that, so long as I found at least one friend on my first day.

After ten minutes of driving around our new town hopelessly we finally managed to spot the supermarket, and Reese parked in the car park.  
We shopped for half an hour, totally lost in the foreign supermarket- even though it was all in the same language; the food was quite different to the food back home. I realised everything would be.

* * *

I walked into the chilly fog and it enveloped me, and I released my breath in a cloud of steam. It was early in the morning- I had been waking up early since after the accident and I found I actually loved this time of the morning where it was just you and the birds. Indigo padded beside me, enjoying the fresh air and promised walk. I had checked the local vets' opening times and knew that after an hour's walk with Indigo, I'd be able to register her there. I had been allowed a dog when I was twelve, after many years of begging, but it was made clear she was my responsibility. Still, my family had instantly fallen in love with the adorable puppy and I'd been allowed to share the responsibility with them, although I always took her on my morning run.  
After running for a while I looped back to the veterinary practise and walked in. The morning chill had kept me cool and I was barely sweating so I was happy to go in before going home to have a shower or at least changing. The reception area was empty, although the sign on the door said open so I dinged the bell on the desk. I heard raised voices coming from the back, when a tall man slammed into the room.  
"What?" he half growled, half snapped a t me.  
I stood at a loss for words. Even though he was probably the rudest man I had ever met, he was definitely the hottest. My head barely reached his chest which I could tell was totally muscled beneath the plain grey t shirt he wore. His chest broadened to strong shoulders that led to a sharp jaw lined with stubble (aah, stubble) and his eyes were a piercing dark hazel, framed by long dark eyelashes and dark brows, that were at that moment turned down in a frown. Before I could pull myself together to answer, he wrinkled his nose and said  
" You stink."

* * *

**AN- I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I've also uploaded the next chapter because this one was pretty short (the next ones will be longer). I've got an actual storyline idea for this story, so it is definitely going somewhere, so follow if you want to see what happens next! Please review! This is my first fanfiction EVER, so I'd really appreciate your comments :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**"A New Life in the New World"**

I stood there gaping. Now it was my turn to snap.  
"What?!" I asked, subtly trying to sniff myself. I wasn't that bad was I?  
"Sorry about him, what can we do for you?" another guy said as he walked through the door behind the desk. My instinct told me he was about my age, but his body was older and I could tell he was built heavily. He seemed a lot more friendly than the first guy, who just stood, glaring, arms crossed.  
"Well we're new in town, and I need to register my dog with the vets," I said.  
"Oh, you're British huh? Cool, let me just get the forms" he rifled under the desk and procured a piece of paper, then handed me a pen. "Just fill in your details and your pets," He told me. I started to fill in the form, and he walked round the desk to stroke Indigo. "Wow she's gorgeous, what's her name?"  
"Indigo. How'd you know she was a girl?" I asked, surprised. He shrugged,  
"An instinct I guess" I could feel the scary guys eye's drilling into me. " So, you gonna start at Beacon Hills this year?"  
"Yeah, as a junior." I knew I want being very talkative but I was seriously panicking about whether I stank or not.  
"No way! My friends and I are juniors at BHHS too! Maybe we'll see you around" he said, friendlily, smiling. I smiled back; glad that maybe I would find a couple of friends at BHHS on my first day. "Oh, I'm Scott McCall, by the way" he said quickly.  
"I'm Meredith. Meredith Greene"  
"That jackass is Derek." he said, pointing to the first guy who was still glaring at us. I nodded and took a small step forward when suddenly Indigo started growling. She was pulling at the lead and I had to yank her back and calm her down by stroking her ears, which she loved.  
"Sorry." I said to 'Derek'. "She's usually really friendly." He just glared some more and I took that as my cue to leave. I told Scott I hoped to see him Monday and left the surgery.

* * *

The good thing about being shot three times in two of your most vital organs is that when you inevitably fall into a coma, you get to sleep it off and, best of all, when you wake up you can't remember a thing of it. The worst part of it is when you look down to your white school polo shirt to see blood blossoming and before your brain registers what's just happened, you get shot another two times, the force knocking you to your feet and then finally the short gasp of pain before you black out. Apparently, I was very lucky- according to the doctors- but what's lucky about getting shot and laying still in a coma for six months while your body tries to repair itself? I tried to remain focused on the positives but it was usually hard to come up with any, so I usually just tried to block it from my mind completely. So instead of thinking about how even my closest friends had treated and looked at me differently once I'd returned to school seen months after one random lunatic had managed to almost kill me and how everything had seemed to change in those seven months- myself included- I tried to think about all the new friends I'd make on Monday and the new life I'd make for myself, but I just ended up making myself worse. By Monday morning, I was a nervous wreck.

"Yo, Mer!" Reese called from my open doorway. "Mums making us pancakes for our first day at Beacon Hills. You'd better get up soon before they're all gone" I blinked groggily and waited until I heard his heavy footsteps on the stairs to my room before I sat up and glanced at my clock. Six o'clock. I had an hour and a half to get ready. Why did the Americans feel the need to start school so early?! I took a quick shower, zizzed my hair with a blow dryer so it fell in natural waves- before the 'accident' I had a shortish bob but after six months of no haircuts, it had grown way past my shoulders and I liked it there because it made my face look softer- then put a flick of eyeliner on. I'd chosen my outfit for today the night before- some really skinny dark jeans and a dark red jumper that set off my dark lips and raced downstairs. My mum was piling pancake after pancake on a plate while my brother and sister ate them as fast as they could.  
"Hey gorgeous!" Mum said as I walked into the kitchen. Aside from my bedroom, this was my favourite room of the house- it was the biggest one, taking up nearly the whole ground floor, an open plan living room-kitchen-dining room area. The kitchen was bright and sunny, with a large old table in the middle. It then opened onto our lounge, a mismatch of sofas and chairs with an old rug on the floor. There was a large screen TV mounted on the wall above am old fashioned fire place. Apart from that, the room's walls were crowded by book shelves and paintings my parents had both done when they were at university, and dotted around were millions of family pictures. Even in the four days we'd been here, it felt like home.  
"Hi," I yawned as I grabbed a plate and a couple of the pancakes.  
"Excited for your first day?" she asked. I shrugged.  
"I guess, but it's mostly just nerves."  
"You'll do fine, sweetie, I promise. You just need to build your confidence back up." She said, coming over to hug me.  
"Yeah, if anyone says anything, I'll beat them up for you" Reese said, pausing shovelling endless pancake into his mouth.  
I smiled weakly. " Thanks."  
"But just don't embarrass me" Lizbeth said.  
"I'll try" I said with a smile.  
"Ready?" Reese asked me and I nodded.  
"Nearly" I pulled on my favourite pair of battered old Doc Martens so dark a shade of pink they were almost red. "Done." Reese had agreed to give me a lift to school, and because his car only had room for two, Lizbeth had to go with our mum, who was starting teaching maths at BHHS too. Our dad was a doctor, and he'd easily found a job at the local hospital. I said goodbye to indigo and set out with Reese.  
"Are you gonna be ok today, Mer?" he asked once we'd been driving in comfortable silence for a few minutes. My brother and I weren't exactly close- we both liked our privacy but I knew he cared a lot about both me and Lizbeth.  
I sighed, "Yes! Stop asking me that!" he held his hands up from the wheel in surrender.  
"Ok, but just so I know, you don't want us telling people about the coma, do you?"  
"No" I said, looking away from him out the window. "We already discussed this. I want a new life, that's why we moved out here. I don't want people to be my friend out of sympathy."

He dropped the subject and we carried on in silence. He parked in the 'lot' and we climbed out, in the midst of the sea of students heading towards the main entrance to the high school. We'd been told to go to the administrative office for our timetables- although everyone else would get theirs in 'homeroom', our principal had asked to show us around himself. Of course, my parents had had to tell the school about my medical history so I would have to put up with teachers giving me 'the look'. Lizbeth was already waiting for us outside the office and just as we walked up, the principal walked out. He looked like your average school principal- tired, bored and unsatisfied with his life. I'd heard he'd only recently taken over from an old guy called Mr Argent who'd died a couple of weeks before the end of last year. Even though he'd only been a principal here for those weeks, I could see the cracks beginning to show.  
"Hello, welcome to Beacon Hills High School. I'm Mr Gangrade, you're new principal." He shook each of our hands. "Now, today being the first day of our school year, I'm going to be very busy, so let's do this quickly, shall we?" We just let him lead us down the corridor in the midst of the sea of students. Not many even looked at us, although I saw a few girls look twice at Reese, which I knew he clocked. Suddenly a loud bell rang, and the students disappeared in a matter of seconds. "Here's the library." Mr Gangrade said, boredly. He gestured at a large library, a lot bigger than the one at my old school. I could see a large bank of computers but, even better, I could see that there was a range of both nonfiction and fiction books, ready for raiding. We quickly moved on. "Here's the locker area. I have each of your combinations." he showed us how to use the lockers in record time and then showed us to the cafeteria, gym and finally walked each of us to our homerooms. I stood tentatively outside the door, trying to force myself to walk in. I wished that my teacher had been my mum, because she'd know that I wouldn't at all want a big introduction, but unfortunately my timetable told me I wouldn't be taught by her at all this year. I took a deep breath then pushed the door open. A whole classroom of heads turned towards me, but I ignored them, instead keeping my focus on the teacher sitting at the front at a desk. At first sight I could see he was one of those teachers who absolutely hated children and would do anything to pick on them. I groaned inwardly. I would actually take a soppy sympathetic look over the cold look in this man's eyes.  
"Ah, it seems our new student has finally arrived." he stood up. "You're late" I shrugged, determined not to let him embarrass me on my first day.  
"Mr Gangrade gave me the grand tour."  
He nodded, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Well I'm Mr Harris, you're new home room teacher, also chemistry teacher." He turned to the class who were watching us. "This is Meredith Greene, she just moved here from Britain. Tell us about yourself, Meredith." he said. I gulped nervously and turned to the class, not focusing on any faces.  
"Well I'm from Cambridge in England. I have a younger sister and an older brother." I said quickly, too nervous to say anymore. The thing is, I'm not exactly shy- before the accident I was really confident and happy in my own body- but after returning to school after seven months of time off and seeing how life had changed and carried on without me I was a whole lot more self conscious and I always felt as if everyone could see through my top to the scars over my heart and stomach.  
"Ok, well let's find you a seat. Mr McCall, don't think I didn't notice you sitting next to Mr Stilinski. You can move to the back. I'm sorry to split you two up." I followed his gaze to the boy I'd met at the vets, Scott. He smiled at me then gave Mr Harris puppy dog eyes. "Move, now" Harris said sternly, and Scott picked his bag up and moved to another desk at the back. "Don't look so sad, Stilinski, you'll still be able to see him in your secret rendezvous in the guys locker room." A couple of guys sniggered, but the guy called Stilinski just rolled his eyes. "And I'm doing you a favour anyway. I'm sure your horny teenage self will gladly sit next to the new girl, after all, you've probably never been within three feet of a girl." A few more sniggers. Stilinski rolled his eyes again.  
"That's original. You've only used that, what? Four times in the twenty minutes we've been back to school?"  
"I'd be happy to sit next to him. He's cute" I blurted defiantly and sat down in the desk next to his.  
"Be careful, you might make Scott jealous" Stilinski said sarcastically, and the class laughed. Mr Harris just scowled.  
"Ah, you've still got the desire for detentions, Mr Stilinski. Watch yourself."  
"Ah, you've still got the creepy desire to spend time with me Mr Harris. I'm flattered" he replied under his breath and the people around him started giggling. Mr Harris' eyes narrowed but he just returned to his seat. Slowly chatter started and Stilinski turned to me.  
"So I'm cute, huh?" he asks smiling. I laughed.  
"Sure" I wasn't actually lying- he had large round eyes that were a gorgeous molten gold colour and full lips.  
"I'm Stiles" he said.  
"I'm...well I guess you already know." He nodded.  
"You met Scott at the vets right? He said you and Derek got along swimmingly." Stiles smirked and I laughed.  
"Is he like that with everyone?" I asked. Stiles nodded.  
"Pretty much. Don't worry, you won't have to put up with him here though, he doesn't go to high school anymore." I nodded just as the bell rang. "What've you got first?" he asked, grabbing his backpack.  
"Um.. History with Mrs Smith," I told him after checking my timetable.  
"Hey, me too! Let's get Scott and we'll walk with you."

* * *

**AN- Hope you guys enjoyed the Stiles banter**

**I LOVE HIM!**

**Anyway...please review, I'd reaaaaally appreciate it! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three  
" The Pack"

My first day was actually... enjoyable. Stiles was in most of my lessons- most of which were AP. We got on really well and he introduced me to almost everyone we passed. By lunchtime, I felt a whole lot better. He showed me to a table filled with a large group of people-  
"This is Allison," he said, pointing to a pretty dark haired girl, who smiled and waved friendlily, "Jackson", a handsome boy who smiled lazily, "you know Scott" he waved happily anyway, "Lydia", a strawberry blonde girl whose eyes flicked over me, then smiled as if I'd passed some little test, "Boyd", a massive black boy who grinned at me then turned back to the girl sitting next to him- "Erica" a beautiful blonde girl who barely glanced at me, and "last but certainly not least, Isaac" Stiles said with a flourish towards a bronze haired boy who smiled shyly. I sat next to him and Stiles plunked his tray next to mine.  
"Everybody, this is Meredith!" Stiles said, gesturing grandly at me.  
"Hello" I said, trying not to be shy, but somehow ending up nervous. Seriously, everyone on this table was gorgeous and I felt slightly out of place with my dark blonde wavy hair, long nose and plain face. But no one else seemed to think so and they all greeted me warmly.  
"I love your jumper, Meredith, where'd you get it?" Allison asked in her friendly calm voice.  
"Um, a shop called Jack Wills? It's English" I replied.  
"Wow, I love your accent! It's so cute!" Lydia said, smiling genuinely at me. I blushed.  
"Thanks" I said, just as I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and my brother stood behind me.  
"Hey, you ok?" he asked, smiling at the group behind me.  
I nodded. "Yeah thanks."  
He smiled, "Good. I'll see you later yeah?" I watched him walk away to a group of seniors, who greeted him loudly and cheerfully. They looked like your typical popular kids, and I smiled, because I'd known he would become an instant popular. I searched the cafeteria quickly for Lizbeth and found her sitting with a large group of pretty girls who were all laughing along with her.  
"Woah, did you know him?! He's HOT! And that accent" Lydia exclaimed. Jackson growled (what is with the growling round here?), but she just patted him on the cheek.  
"Unfortunately I do. He's my brother." I said. "That's my sister" I pointed to Lizbeth.  
"So why'd you move to Beacon Hills, Meredith?" Isaac asked.  
I shrugged. "My dad got a job at the hospital- he's a doctor, so we decided to move out here. I wasn't exactly happy about it, but they won me over with the house they bought."  
"Where do you live?" Scott asked.  
Stiles coughed. "Stalker!" he said underneath his cough. The group laughed.  
I smiled. "You know Thorn Avenue? Number 96."  
"No way! That's my street," Allison said smiling. "I live at 72."  
I smiled back.  
By the end of the day, I was feeling really good about moving here. The day had gone a whole lot better than I'd hoped for and the guys I'd eaten with at lunch had seemed really genuinely nice and interested in befriending me. Stiles was in all but one of my classes, which was maths, but Allison and Isaac had been in my class, and they'd been really nice. I'd even passed a couple of people in the hall who I'd recognised from their classes and smiled or nodded at me. Overall, I had a great day.

I stood outside Reese's truck, waiting for him to emerge from school. There was a steady stream of kids exiting after their first day and Scott and Erica spotted me and waved on their way out. I watched them walk over to a sleek black Camaro, and was shocked to see Derek standing next to it. Scott spoke angrily to Derek who grabbed his arm roughly and snarled something to him. Erica didn't look at all bothered- in fact, she looked as if this were normal behaviour. Scott shook Derek off and walked away to a blue jeep, where Stiles was stood watching, and I could just make out him rolling his eyes. I laughed quietly at Stiles and Derek's head whipped round to me. He glared at me and I stared as defiantly as I could back, trying not to get lost in his eyes.  
"Hey, Mer" Reese said, interrupting my stare off with Derek, and I jumped guiltily.  
"Hey" I replied and glanced back to the Camaro. It was gone.

When we got home, I decided to make the most of the September sun and helped my mum start on the garden. It was a large lot, but it was unkempt and wild. We chatted about my first day and I told her about my new found friends, when Lizbeth's head popped out of the back door suddenly.  
"So who's that guy you were hanging round with all day? Do you like him? He's cute." she said. My mum looked to me with a raised eyebrow.  
I smiled. "That's Stiles Stillinski, he's in a lot of my classes. And don't worry, Lizbeth you can have your little crush, Stiles and I are just friends." I said. My mum looked at me suspiciously and I raised my hands in surrender. "Trust me!"  
"Isn't that guy a little old for you, Beth?" Reese called from his bedroom window. I rolled my eyes. There were no private conversations in my family.  
"No!" Lizbeth said exasperatedly. And with that, her head whipped back inside. I ignored my mum's curious looks and carried on weeding. After a half hour, I went back into the house, just as the doorbell rang. I went to answer it and was happily surprised to see Allison and Lydia in the doorway.  
"Hey!" Lydia said, peering inside. Allison rolled her eyes good naturedly,

"We're here to see you, not your brother, aren't we Lydia?" she said.  
"Hmmmm...yeah" Lydia replied distractedly.  
"Lydia. Lydia! Lydia, you have a boyfriend. Remember Jackson?!" Allison said loudly.  
"Oh. Yeah. Sorry." Lydia said sheepishly. I smiled and let them in.  
"I brought your family some stew- my dad made it. My mom and Grandpa died a couple of months ago, and my dad's coping by cooking. Stiles is helping him. He said he's sorry he hasn't dropped by yet, he seen busy at...work."  
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry" I said.  
She shrugged." We all deal with grief in different ways. I'm lucky to have my supportive Pa- friends," she added hastily. "Anyway, Lydia wanted to check out your closet and I wanted to ask about your first day so here we are."  
"Well this is our lounge-slash-kitchen-slash-dining room." I said gesturing around the room.  
"Wow it's really nice." Allison said. "You guys must read a lot"  
"I do, and so do my parents. All my books are upstairs though" I led them up the stairs. "That's Lizbeth's room." I pointed to her door, which she had decorated with pictures of us, her old friends and celebrities. "She has a crush on Stiles." I added in a whisper.  
"For god's sake I do NOT!" She called from her room. We stifled giggles.  
"That's my parents' room and that's Reese's room" I gave a suggestive look to Lydia, who just grinned at me.  
"Yo" Reese called from his doorway.  
"This is Allison and Lydia, they're in my year" I told him and he raised a hand in greeting.  
"Wow. Were you just working out? You can totally tell." Lydia asked. He nodded; shooting me a questioning look then disappeared back in his room.  
"Have you no shame!" I said as we ran up my stairs, laughing.  
"And this is my room" I told them as we reached the top.  
"Wow, this is soo cool!" Allison said, running her hands along a shelf of books. I'd painted my room a plain white, but had then painted my favourite quotes from books and films around the walls in different shades of blue, green and purple. There were loads of bookshelves dotted around and I had chosen a variety of furniture- a dark wooden desk that took up nearly a whole room, topped with my laptop; a squashed purple armchair; a brass chair; and my gorgeous bed which id had shipped over from England. It was draped with blankets of purple, blue and green jewel tones and it was piled high with pillows and cushions. Lydia headed straight for my wardrobe and yanked it open. While she rifled through my clothes, Allison sat down on my bed, reading the quotes on my wall.  
"So, how do you like Beacon Hills?" she asked with a smile.  
"It's a lot better than I thought it was going to be" I told her. "Back at my old school, there weren't cliques like there are here, but it wasn't really acceptable to not be 'mainstream'. Here, even though there are the different sort of groups, people accept you for who you are" I said.  
Allison nodded. "We try" she said, grinning.  
"So how long have Jackson and Lydia been going out?" I asked.  
"Two months, three days, and..." Lydia glanced at her watch. "About an hour"  
Allison laughed. "And quite a while before that! They broke up for ages- she was really upset about it. Those guys just...suit." she added quietly to me.  
"Like you and Scott?" Lydia said, eyebrows raised.  
"You and Scott are going out?" I asked Allison. I had noticed a couple of glances shared between them, but had thought that they were just mutual crushes.  
"No! We used to date, but it didn't work out." she told me.  
"Yeah right...you guys are meant to be together! You're just bitter about your mom and Grandpa and Der-" Allison cut Lydia off with a glare.  
"How about you Mer? Any boyfriends to speak of?" Lydia said, changing the subject.  
I laughed. "I wish"  
"Any guys here catch your eye?" she continued, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. My blush gave me away.  
"Oh my gosh there is someone! Is it Stiles?" she asked.  
"What?! No!"  
"Hmmm...Isaac?" I shook my head. "Boyd...Scott?"  
"No, no and no!"  
"Ok...Jackson?"  
"Oh my god, NO!"  
"We will find out who it is" Lydia said threateningly.  
"So... See anything you like?" I asked nodding toward my wardrobe, where Lydia stood, holding a top to her chest, trying to divert their attention away from me. I didn't exactly have a crush on Derek- in fact the only time I'd spoken to him had been at the vets, and that hadn't exactly gone well, but...damn, was that guy hot.  
"You have some really great clothes, Meredith" Lydia said, drawing our attention to the top she was holding against her chest. I was curious about whatever Lydia had just been talking about before Allison cut her off but decided I'd only known them a day, they were allowed their secrets.  
"Thanks. I had a massive shopping trip before we moved here and all the clothes in there are new. I didn't fit in my old ones after-" I broke off, but Lydia didn't seem to notice, although Allison glanced at me curiously.  
"Mer! Dinners ready!" my mum called.  
"Oh. Do you guys wanna stay for dinner? You're welcome to- my mum always makes too much food." I said, smiling.  
"Thanks, but my dad's expecting me. It was really nice to see you Mer. See you tomorrow, ok?"  
"Yeah, I'm meeting up with Jackson, but thanks for the offer." Lydia said. I led them to the door and both gave me a hug. Surprised, I hugged back, smiling.

* * *

**AN- So third chapter...hope you guys liked it! I'm sorry not much happens, but I kinda had to put this one in. there will be more Derek-y goodness and actual plot next chapter. I might not have made it clear enough but basically Meredith got shot and was in a coma for six months. I won't say anymore because...spoilers! ;) ah, I'm such a nerd. Btw, if you got that Dr Who reference then marry me? Um...so yeah. I will be posting new chapters this coming friday and then monday and then friday and then..you get the message. Also, without giving too much away, you might be wondering where the alpha pack is and how Erica and Boyd escaped them after the last episode of season two (which was totally AWESOME), but that will all be revealed...so please review or fav or follow! Pweddy pwease with Tyler Hoechlin on top? Dylan's mine, but I'll let you have him? :D **

**P.S. I don't really know whether I need to do this but...**

**Disclaimer- Funnily enough, I don't own Teen Wolf. I know, life sucks ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_  
_**"Committing crime "**_

"..._They _don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."  
I read to the girl lying in front of me. My dad had managed to find me a job at the hospital, but I'd declined, saying I'd much rather volunteer for reading to the children in the hospital. After my long stay in one, I knew that most of these kids would be bored out of their minds and I was happy to read to them on my free evenings. Tonight had been my first night- only my third day at BHHS. I'd found myself fitting in well with Stiles' group of friends and enjoyed hanging out with them at lunchtimes. Allison was also in quite a few of my classes, and I was actually starting to feel happy about the move here. Even though I'd only been at school for a few days, I was starting to feel like these guys could be my friends.  
I looked up from the book, and nearly jumped a foot in the air when i spotted a certain familiar face glaring trough the window.  
"There you go, sweetie" I said, quickly, standing up.  
"Thanks Mer-dith. Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked, smiling a gap toothed smile. I couldn't help but smile back.  
"Of course," then I got out of there as quickly as I could.  
"Derek?" I hissed. He turned from the window. "Can I help you?" I asked.  
"Why are you here?" he growled. "Are you hurt?"  
"Yeah, I was just in major surgery- that was just my doctor in there was my doctor!" I replied sarcastically. At his unchanging expression, I continued, "No I'm starting volunteering here on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Why are you here?!" Then I noticed the blood on his grey tight fitting...I shook my head.  
" Are you OK?!" I asked. "Should I get a doctor?"  
"No... Listen, I need a favour. I know you know Scott and the others." he said.  
"Do you even remember my name?" I asked. He looked offended.  
"Yes" he growled (again). I raised my eyebrows at him. "It's Meredith" he sighed. Oh. I didn't think he would've remembered.  
"Are you sure you're okay? I mean you've got blood all over you!"  
He shook his head. "It's not mine. Look, it's not important right now. I need to get out of here. I can't have the cops suspicious of me again." he said, gripping my arms. I tried not to blush. Again? Oh my gosh- maybe he was a criminal. But I nodded- he was friends with my friends after all.  
"I think I know what we can do" I told him.  
I found a blue sheet in the nurses' supplies, and he managed to wrestle (literally) a wheelie-bed from a man and swapped him a wheelchair for it. I pulled him to an empty room.  
"Okay, get in" I said. He lay down on the bed and I covered him with the sheet. I couldn't help but giggle.  
"Don't laugh! This is serious!" he hissed from beneath the sheet.  
"I know, I know. Sorry" I took a deep breath. "Let's go" I wheeled him into the hallway. "You're heavy" I whispered to him. He growled. I took him down the corridor, glad that it was practically empty. We'd made it to reception when a nurse spotted me.  
"Excuse me! I don't think you should be-"  
"Fuck!" I hissed under my breath, and sped up.  
"Hey! Kid! Stop!" a few people had looked round to see what was happening. I heard the nurse behind me and started to run. I couldn't help but laugh as we neared the doors. I stepped onto the frame and let our momentum carry us out the door. Derek quickly sat up and set off running.  
"You so owe me!" I called to him, then turned to see the nurse standing at the doorway, arms crossed. I shrugged innocently, trying my best puppy dog smile.

"I have no idea! My dad told me he was handcuffed to his gurney and he came in with a massive animal scratch- he was unconscious when he came in with the paramedics!" I told Allison, as I walked up to my room, phone pressed against my ear.  
She laughed. "Are you sure? And you actually put him on a gurney under a sheet and ran him out of hospital?!"  
"Don't laugh! I was in serious trouble!" I reached the top of the stairs, and pushed open my door, not bothering with the light and slumped on my bed. I turned over and, before a scream could reach my lips, a hand clamped my mouth shut. I looked up at Derek, my eyes wide. He just put a finger to his lips, then slowly pulled his hand away.  
"I...I'm sorry, Allison. I've got to go" I said, then hung up.  
"Oh my god! How did you get in here? Because you know, this isn't _AT all_ creepy!" I hissed at him.  
He shrugged, his usual glare missing.  
"Sorry, but I just wanted to thank you for what you did today."  
"Yeah, no problem!" I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "You do know that I actually committed a felony! I got let off, but they know it was you and the cops are looking for you."  
"Not the first time." Was all he said, and I suddenly realised he was laid on top me, on my bed. Oh my god. He must have realised too because he shot up. Too bad.  
He turned to me and I raised my eyebrows expectantly.  
"So...How the hell did you do it?"  
He stared at me blankly. "Do what?"  
"I don't know, end up in hospital after being transported to said hospital in an ambulance after being totally mauled by an animal and then somehow magically be cured! You said the blood wasn't yours!" I stage whispered, angrily.  
He smirked. "I can't believe you actually fell for that."  
I gripped my hair in frustration.  
"Jesus Christ!"  
In a flash, he was gripping my arms again, and gently pulled them away from my hair.  
"I'm sorry, ok?" he growled, then turned to the window. Before I could say anything else, he jumped. I ran to the window and saw his figure miraculously run across the street into the dark. Once I lay in bed, I realised he had avoided all my questions.

* * *

When I told Stiles the day after, he actually collapsed laughing. "Oh my god! Derek Hale on a gurney. That I would love to have seen!"  
"Hale? That's his surname?"  
"Yeah. Why?"  
"Nothing, it's just a nice name" I said, defensive.  
"Ooh, has someone got a little crush on Derek?" he asked, smirking, standing up and climbing back into the cafeteria chair.  
"Who's got a little crush on Derek?" Erica asked as she sat down opposite us at the table with Boyd and Scott.  
"Meredith" Stiles said, smirk still plastered across his face.  
"Derek? Derek Hale?!" Scott asked.  
"Oh my god, no!" I cried. "Stiles!" I punched him in the arm. He mock screamed in pain and writhed on the floor.  
"Dork" Jackson said as he joined the table.  
"Whatever. At least I'm not a complete jerkass like some people" Stiles said, returning to his chair. Again.  
"Um, Meredith?" I turned to face my sister, who stood behind me. "Sorry to interrupt," she said to the table, eyes fixed on Stiles, who I saw was blushing. I grinned. "But I need a lift home tonight, mum's got a meeting. I couldn't find Reese."  
"Um, ok. I can walk, you go with Reese."  
"No, Mer, you know you can't" She gave me a pointed look. I could handle a short run in the mornings after a whole night's sleep, but even the meds I was on now, to try to help me build my muscles up again, especially around my stomach, where the two bullets had damaged the muscles around my intestines and stomach, hadn't got me ready to walk the four miles home after a long day at school.  
"You don't drive, Mer?" Boyd asked.  
I shook my head. "The legal age for driving is different in England and I haven't exactly had time to learn to drive since I've been here."  
"Oh, ok, well I can give you a ride, if you want, Lizbeth?" Stiles asked.  
She nodded. "Ok" she was smiling. "I'll meet you outside school okay?" She didn't wait for a reply before she'd already walked away to rejoin her friends. We all turned to Stiles, whose faced was a nice shade of pink. I shot a knowing look to Scott, just as Allison walked up to the table quickly and whispered something in Scott's ear. He nodded and quickly walked away with her. The group seemed suddenly alert and I wondered what Allison had told Scott. Stiles cleared his throat loudly.  
"Seems as if someone's horny." He motioned a whip. The table broke into quiet nervous laughter, and the tension was broke.

At the end of the day, as I exited the school I smiled as I saw Meredith climbing into Stiles' jeep, laughing at something he'd said. The more I thought about it, I realised those guys would bring out the best in each other and I was happy for them both. Although I was slightly late, Reese wasn't at the truck and I noticed a small piece of paper stuck to the windscreen wipers. I picked it up and sighed. Reese had decided to try out for the lacrosse team, this schools favourite sport. I contemplated my options. I could stay and watch the tryouts but I was really not that interested in watching a bunch of hopeless sweaty guys trying to play a boring game. Scott, Isaac, Jackson and Boyd were all on the team so they'd be there. Stiles was on the team, but as chief bench warmer, he had been happy to blow it off for Lizbeth and I'd just watched him drive away. Allison had gotten a lift from Lydia. I turned to the almost empty parking lot, and grinned. I knew Reese kept a spare key under his truck, stuck with Sellotape to the underside of his tyre. I knelt down and unstuck it, then climbed into the driver's seat. All I had to do was drive the five minute journey home; I'd seen people drive all my life. How hard could it be, right?  
It turns out, very. Every tiny movement I made with my foot on the accelerator, the car jerked forward and when I tried going fast, the engine made a horrible spluttering noise, for no apparent reason. Fortunately, the roads weren't too busy, but I decided to take a longer route which I knew would be a lot less busy that went through the woods that bordered my new town. I'd made it about five minutes when the truck first stopped. I frowned, puzzled, then turned the key again and started down the road. The next time it stopped was in the middle of the woods. I tried turning the key again, but this time the car didn't restart. I swore and got out the car.  
"Holy mother of cheese! Fucking sweet Jesus!" I muttered. There was smoke curling from the bonnet and the acrid smell of burning reached my nostrils. "Fuck!" I shouted. Reese was going to kill me. A throat cleared behind me. I spun round, startled. Really, I shouldn't have been surprised.

* * *

**A/N- I didn't actually realise how short this chapter was until I just finished checking it, so I'm sorry, but the next chapter WILL be posted on monday! Yay! **

**By the way, if you know which book Meredith was reading to the little girl, then you are AWESOME! Next chapter, there is a whole load more of Derek-y goodness so I think you'll enjoy that! As always, PLEASE review, fav or follow? I'd really appreciate it and I WILL love you FOREVER! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five  
"Rumours"**

" Need any help?" Derek asked. As if it was totally normal to turn up in the middle of no where to help with a little car trouble.  
"Maybe."  
He quirked one eyebrow, and I sighed. "Ok! I definitely need help! My brothers going to murder me! You owe me a favour, just help me! Save the car!"  
The corner of his mouth curled upwards. It was the first time I'd seen him smile and I liked it. He walked over to the truck, and opened the bonnet. Smoke enveloped him. Once it cleared, he set to work. " Do you know anything about cars?" I asked. He grunted in reply. "I'll take that as a yes, then." He seemed to be happy to stay in silence so I stopped talking and sat on the grass beside the road and admired him work, his muscles rippling beneath his tight navy t shirt.  
"So why the hell did you decide to drive out here. Do you even have a licence?" he asked suddenly and I dragged my thoughts from the gutter.  
I shrugged, "My brother had lacrosse tryouts. I wanted to get home." We settled into silence again. It wasn't awkward though; in a strange way it was comfortable, even if I had only met the guy six days ago, and spoken to him three times, one of which in my _bedroom_ which he had somehow managed to get into.  
"There" he said. I looked up, just as he reached up to pull down the hood.  
"Thanks" I said, unsure what to say.  
"Now we're even," he shrugged. "Go on then, get in." At my blank face, he rolled his eyes. "I'll drive." I clambered into the passenger side as he got into the driver's seat. I switched the radio on, glad to hear my favourite Muse song playing. Forgetting I was in a car with Derek Hale, I started doing air guitar, closing my eyes and quietly singing along. Once the song finished, I opened my eyes to see him watching me intently, amusement on his face. I blushed.  
"You like them, huh?" he asked, his eyes now on the road. I nodded. "Me too." We lapsed into silence, my heart still fluttering from embarrassment. We quickly pulled up outside my house. I sat still for a moment, and then reached for my seatbelt. Suddenly, Derek's hand gently touched my cheek, then pulled away just as suddenly. "Not many girls blush nowadays. I like that you do." he murmured quietly. I blushed even harder, my heart pounding now.  
"Thanks for, you know." I gestured around the car.  
"I'll drive back to school, and leave the car there. You're brother will never know." he said. I nodded, then got out the car and walked up to the porch, my head spinning with confusion.

The next day being Friday, I was glad to get up for school. I was also in an insanely good mood after seeing Derek the day before. He'd actually been a lot less rude and actually pretty civil. And very hot.  
"Mer, you're humming." Stiles said as we walked from my locker to homeroom.  
"Oh sorry."  
"Don't be sorry, I'm just wondering why anyone could be so cheerful at this time in the morning. It's not yet eight o'clock! Did you get lucky last night?" he asked, jokingly. Once again, my cheeks burned giving me away.  
"Oh my god! You got lucky!" Stiles cried, attracting a few looks from other people in the hall.  
"Shut up Stiles!" I hissed. "I didn't get lucky last night, I swear!"  
"Mm-hmm..." Stiles replied suspiciously.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. "That's just noise. And speaking of romance, how'd your little date with my sister go yesterday? She didn't get home for another hour." I asked, eager to change the subject.  
"It wasn't a date!" he protested. He caved under my withering glare and sighed. "It went...well." he said, as we walked into Mr Harris' classroom.  
"How well?" I asked, poking him.  
"I don't know! She's the first girl who's ever liked me, and she's just so gorgeous! I think she just thought I was a complete nerd." he said, sighing.  
"Ok, a) she won't be the first girl to like you, b) I'm sure she didn't and if she did, she would be completely correct, but that's beside the point and c) I know for a fact she enjoyed herself last night- when she got home she didn't comment on how horrible my outfit was once. Ok, maybe once- but that's really good for Lizbeth!"  
Stiles seemed to cheer up after that.  
"So where'd you guys go?" I asked.  
"I just took her for a drive around town and we just talked." He told me. I nodded and smiled. I was happy for both of them.  
"Just a warning though, when Reese finds out, be prepared for a serious threatening. He's always been really protective over us, so good luck with that." he gulped and I rolled my eyes. I looked up to see Scott walk up to us, looking tired as hell.  
"Are you ok?!" I asked him, but he ignored the question.  
"You were with Derek last night." He looked at me accusingly.  
"Dude, you had SEX WITH DEREK HALE?!" Stiles shouted at me. The whole classroom turned to look at us, and Mr Harris raised his eyebrows.  
"Getting a little jealous, Mr Stillinski? Don't worry you'll always have Scott." We ignored him. I slapped Stiles round the head.  
"I did NOT have sex with Derek Hale last night!" I hissed at him, my cheeks burning.  
"She had SEX with him?!" Scott asked Stiles.  
"Well she had sex with someone last night, seriously, look how happy she is, it's unnatural. It's eight o'clock in the morning and summers over!"  
"Are you actually listening to me here?" I asked, and they both turned to me. "a) I most DEFINITELY DID NOT have sex with anybody last night, least of all Derek, and b)how did you know that?!" I asked Scott.  
Now he shifted uncomfortably. I saw Stiles frown at Scott, giving him a look.  
"I...um...he told me he saw you last night." I had no proof that he hadn't but somehow I couldn't see Derek getting all buddy-buddy with Scott, and Scott himself didn't sound very convincing, but I decided to let it go.

By lunchtime, I was ready to kill Stiles. People were whispering in the hallways as I walked past and Reese had actually come up to me and shouted, "Who the hell is this Derek Hale?! Is it true? Do you want me to beat him up? Because I will!" right in the hallway. I'd punched him. As I sat at my usual table, the whole group turned to me, eager interest in their eyes, grins on their faces.  
"So...I guess we know who Mer's little crush is now, don't we" Lydia said slyly.  
"You've been crushing on him?!" asked Isaac.  
I held my hands up in frustration. "I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH DEREK FREAKING HALE!" I shouted at them. Unfortunately, it seemed the whole cafeteria heard me and I felt everyone's eyes on me. "Crap." I whispered, and looked down at my lunch. The table started sniggering. "It's not funny!" I said, hitting Scott and Isaac who were sat next to me.  
"It is when you know Derek like we do." Erica said.  
"Oh my god, I need to see his face when he hears about this." Jackson said, and they all nodded. I groaned.  
"Why would he hear about this? Don't tell him! He'll think I've been starting the rumours! When actually it was all Stiles' fault!" I cried.  
"Sure, blame everything on Stiles!" he said, an innocent look in his face.  
"How'd you guys know Derek anyway?" I asked, eager to change the topic away from me.  
They all looked at each other. Again with the whole secrets thing. I sighed.  
"Well he went to school here, and...we got to know him then." Scott said.  
I frowned. "He doesn't look young enough to have gone to school with you guys." I said.  
"Well..." Lydia started. "We, um..." luckily for her the bell rang and the group quickly dispersed. I looked to Stiles questioningly. He just shrugged and said,  
"Believe me, if I had the choice, I would have chosen never to met him."

* * *

**A/N- I LOVE Derek! I hope you did! I don't really know what else to say about this chapter, but I really hope I'm writing Derek right! If you have any suggestions or improvements for his character review and I would really appreciate it! Or just review for anything! You have no idea how much I LOVE seeing a new review, it means so much to me! I would also really like to say thankyou so much to everyone who has favourited and followed this story!You have literally made my life ;) But a special thanks to all those who have reviewed their love for this story; PC 608, Desigirl97 and Lycan Lover 411! Thanks, you guys! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six "Confiding"**

My next couple of weeks at BHHS were uneventful. I became closer to Allison and Lydia, who had started giving me 'rides' to school. I felt comfortable being with the group and they had all accepted me. Stiles had come to visit a couple of times, earning a few glares from Reese and hung out with both me and Lizbeth. I was right about those two bringing out the best in each other. Stiles being so...well, Stiles- incredibly selfless and dorky- he almost transferred some of his personality onto Lizbeth, who, being the most reluctant out of all of us to move away from her old friends has been rather moody recently, was now happy and cheerful. Allison had also bought Scott over for a couple of nights, and even Isaac had come to visit to help with our maths homework. Erica and Boyd were less friendly- almost unwilling to accept me, although they hadn't said anything. I just got the feeling they were happiest together. The group had invited me to a movie night on the third week of September, but I'd promised one of the patients at the hospital that I would visit them again, so I wasn't able to go. I hadn't spoken to Derek again either, only caught a few glimpses of him in the parking lot outside school, but he'd totally ignored me. I didn't blame him. He'd probably heard the rumours and thought I was some total psychopath coming up with fantasies I thought was real. I told myself it was a good thing- he was eight years older than me according to Allison, he was constantly in trouble with the police, and I barely even knew him. But when I was asleep, my mind seemed to forget all that. Gone were the nightmares of never waking up again; instead replaced by a teenage girl's dreams of her crush. I didn't know which we're worse. At least I was happy here, though. I had barely thought about the shooting and whenever I stepped out the shower, I barely even glanced at the scars encircling my abdomen and chest. My family had noticed the change in me too. I was spending more time in the garden, sorting out the mess that had grown there, or reading in the lounge, instead of hiding upstairs wallowing in self pity. The only bad thing was the fact I had to hide it from my new friends. I would swallow my meds privately in a bathroom stall and whenever I got tired or dizzy from exhaustion in gym, I had to lie to everyone, saying I hadn't had any breakfast. At the beginning of my fourth week at Beacon Hills, my current round of medication ran out, and my mum gave me a lift to the hospital to renew my prescription.  
I walked out of the hospital room, meds in hand, then stopped suddenly when I saw Derek looming intimidatingly at the end of corridor. I turned to go the other way, but he easily caught up with me, a firm grip on my arm.

"Hi." I said, casually,going to place the meds quickly in my pocket. He didn't miss the movement, and grabbed them before I could.

"Aren't these steroids? For building up muscle and fat?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, they're a patient's. Remember I volunteer here?" I said, trying to remain calm.

"It's Monday. You volunteer here Wednesdays and Thursdays. Why are you here? Are you ok? Do you have an eating disorder?" he demanded.

"Do you just happen to hang around hospitals?" I asked, jokingly, trying to divert his attention from me. He growled. "No! I'm fine! Really, these are a patient's. I couldn't make it this Thursday, so I came in today." I told him, hoping he wouldn't see my name on the prescription. Before he could, I snatched the tube from his hands. His eyes narrowed and I could tell he didn't believe me. He couldn't tell I was lying, could he? Before he could say anything else, I muttered a quick "Bye," and got out of there as quickly as I could.

* * *

I washed my hands quickly, trying not to be late for gym. The Bathroom was empty, so I wasn't battling for a sink and dried my hands quickly too. It was the day after I'd seen Derek for the first time in weeks. Just as I neared the door, it slammed open, and I saw a flash of black clothing and blond hair before it disappeared into a stall.

"Erica?" I called. "Are you okay?"  
She didn't reply, and I could hear the faint sounds of crying. I had no idea what to do. "Oh my gosh are you ok?!" I asked. "Are you hurt? Do you want me to go get somebody?" The door whipped open.

"No, don't get anyone. I just..." she trailed off. Her usual perfect smoky makeup was smudged under red rimmed eyes.

"You can tell me. I won't tell anyone and I definitely won't judge." I said soothingly, reaching to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Well...I don't know whether the others have told you, but I used to have really bad epilepsy." I nodded; Allison and Lydia had mentioned it, but they had made it seem like no big deal. Erica usually looked so strong- it didn't seem as if anything could make her weak.

"Well... It kind of went away- the doctors can't really explain it, but I guess this stuff just sort of happens." she said, and I could tell she wanted to say more. I did the only thing I could think of.  
I slowly pulled my Muse T- shirt up to reveal the ugly scars on my stomach. Her eyes widened. "What...?" she whispered.

"I know how you feel. Just over seven months ago, I got shot. I was at school and some guy managed to walk in and started shooting. He only hit me before a teacher managed to hit him with a rounders bat. The first bullet hit me in the chest and the next two hit me in the stomach. I was unconscious before the ambulance arrived. I won't bore you with all the medial crap, but basically after surgery, I survived, but I was put into a medically induced coma, so my body could heal itself. I stayed that way for about a week and they decided to stop giving me the meds, knowing my body would stay unconscious until it was ready to wake up. I was asleep for six months. It was all in the news. The guy who shot me was a total psycho and he got locked up in a mental ward. But I still get scared the same thing could happen again. Maybe the next time I won't wake up." I confided. She stared at me.

"Mer, I'm so sorry," she breathed.

I shrugged. "I didn't tell you for your sympathy- I've had enough of that. I told you so you'd know I understand what you're going through. And I know you understand what I'm saying." She nodded, and more tears fell from her eyes.

"I get so scared that I'll have another fit. I used to hate it. People would film me and post the videos on YouTube. Kids would look at me the same way every day. When I got better, I knew I never wanted people's pity again. But I'm still so scared..." I nodded, and pulled her in for a hug.

"You don't have to say anymore, I understand. Do you want me to talk to anyone for you?" She shook her head.

"I'm glad that you know, but I don't want the others to know my weaknesses. I'm guessing you don't want me to say anything?" I shook my head. She pulled away.

"Thanks, Mer. I really needed that. My parents work a lot and I barely see them. I practically live at Derek's with him and Isaac." My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Isaac lived with Derek? I hadn't realised he was that close with the others.

"Well you're welcome at my house anytime. I'm glad to chat to someone other than my family, and you can always talk to me." She nodded. "Come on then, we're gonna be so late for gym!" I said as we ran out the bathroom.

* * *

My weekend was quiet. I asked the group if anyone wanted to do anything, because I'd missed the movie night, but they all seemed to have plans. The funny thing was, I got the feeling they all had plans together. But I tried to shake those paranoid thoughts from my head. They wouldn't do something and not tell me about it- they'd already invited me to a get together, so I knew they weren't not including me. So I just told myself to stop worrying and managed to get my homework done instead. The strange thing was, on Monday, they all looked completely exhausted, dark shadowy bags under their eyes and weary looks on their faces. But when I asked what they'd done over the weekend they each had their own story, and I let it go.

**AN- Hope you enjoyed this chapter! As per usual, thanks so much for the reviews and favs and follows! I am SOOO happy! ;D By the way, at the weekend it was the full moon in case you didnt get the hint :) And, thats about it! But also I don't own Teen Wolf. I case you were wondering ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven  
"Rejected"**

"Get in, loser! We're going shopping!" Lydia called from her car. I laughed and clambered in next to Allison. I'd asked if Erica could come along too and they'd happily agreed. She was sat at the front with Lydia, laughing along. According to Allison, until recently last school year, Erica had been very shy and solitary and even now she was usually only comfortable with either Isaac, Boyd and Stiles. I was glad Erica was starting to feel more comfortable around us after I'd spoken to her, because, really, spending too much time with those guys was damaging. She hadn't said a word about it to anyone else, but she'd been totally supportive of me and in just the short space of this week she'd been to my house for dinner two times.  
"Not that Mer needs any other clothes, Miss I've-got-a-closet-worthy-of-a-celebrity." Lydia continued.

Allison snorted. "Like you can talk!"

"Well, whatever, we're still in dire need of Halloween outfits. Danny's party is only in two weeks!" she squealed. We'd organised a shopping trip- well, Lydia had organised a shopping trip to find an outfit for a Halloween party Danny Mahealani was hosting. I was happily surprised to be invited but was now slightly panicking over what to wear.

"So, I came up with some ideas. Allison you can go as zombie cheerleader and Scott can go with you as zombie lacrosse player."

"No! Scott and I aren't going together!" Allison protested. Lydia rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Okay fine! Jackson and I will go as the zombies. But I was thinking of going as Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, and Meredith going as Artemis, Maiden Goddess of the Hunt." Lydia said with a pout.

"That sounds like a great idea!" I said. "But instead, I think Erica should be Aphrodite, if you're not going to do it. She has the right 'crazy take me now' kind of gleam in her eye." I said.

"Hey!" Erica cried, smiling. We all laughed.

"Ok, and actually maybe Allison should be Artemis, because of all her archery stuff. But Mer you should totally be Athena!" Lydia said, starting to get excited again. Allison and Erica nodded eagerly.

"Ok."

When we got to the shops, Lydia led us round.

"Ok, so. Erica you need something bright and sexy that's eye catching. And we can do your hair all hot. Allison you need something blue or silver with loads of silver hair accessories. And Mer, you need to look extra hot if you're going to score avec Derek." Lydia said, waggling her eyebrows. I just scowled while Erica and Allison laughed. "That's a great impression of him actually. Maybe couples really do start to look alike."

"We aren't a couple! At all! We haven't spoken for ages!" I said. Lydia didn't reply, but I knew she wouldn't let it drop that easily.

"So, anyway. Mer, you need something white and long that shows of your skinny as hell legs and arms, and gold accessories. I have the perfect idea for your hair!"

* * *

We left the mall with bag upon bag of clothes. It was dark by the time we left.

"Hey, Mer. Do you wanna come to Derek's tonight? Scott just texted to say we're all getting pizza." Allison asked.

"Um, yeah ok. My mum won't mind. I'd like that." She smiled at me.

They drove through Beacon Hills and through to the woods. They turned off down a small road that lead to a run down house. "Derek lives HERE?" I asked. We were parked outside a large house, completely grey and charred. There were pieces of the floor missing on the porch and the wall was patched up by boards. There was one light coming from a downstairs window and through the grime on the glass I could make out Isaac, Stiles and Boyd. Lydia nodded.

"Yeah. It's all burnt and stuff because his family were trapped in a fire here a few years ago. Don't worry, since Isaac and Peter moved back in Derek's done a bit of refurbishing. There are three all right bedrooms upstairs, a bathroom with actual running water downstairs and the living room and kitchen." she said. Oh, Derek's family were dead? All in one go? That's got to be hard.

"Peter?" I asked.

"Oh, right, yeah. Peter's Derek's uncle, he's away on...business right now." she told me as Allison and Erica got out the car.

"Total creep!" sang Allison, and the other girls giggled. They lead me to the front door which they pushed open easily, into a large dark entrance hall, where a flight of stairs led upstairs. Suddenly, a figure dropped from the top of the stairs, right in front of us. I gasped in shock. Derek stood in the hallway.

"Show off." Erica muttered. He just frowned.

"What's she doing here?!" he barked, nodding towards me. Stiles, Isaac and Boyd appeared in a doorway.

"Hi guys! We're-" he broke off when Derek turned to glare at him.

"Who invited her?" he asked. I just stood there like an idiot.

"I did", Allison said defiantly. "We all want her here. You're just being stubborn."

"This isn't an open meeting! We're here for a serious matter."

"Let it go" said Stiles. "She's already here now, we can't just make her leave. And we can discuss-" he looked at me apologetically -"whatever another time." Derek sighed.

"Fine whatever. Do what you want." he growled, then vanished back up the stairs. The whole room rolled their eyes.

"Where's Scott and Jackson?" Lydia asked.

"Getting pizza." Boyd said. They all migrated to the lounge.

"Sorry about him, he's just an being an ass." Allison whispered to me. I tried to shrug it off, as if it didn't bother me. Inside I was crying. I knew she saw that but she let it drop.

"What're you guys playing?" Lydia asked, squeezing onto the couch between Stiles and Isaac.

"COD" Stiles practically grunted. They had already started playing a video game. Lydia rolled her eyes and switched the TV off. He turned to her.

"Hey!" he shouted. "If you weren't a girl, I would so hit you right now!"

She snorted. "Yeah right! You couldn't take me."

"Oh really?! You're just saying that because you know I'm not going to hit you."

Boyd snorted. "She could take you."

"Hey! Mer, who do you think would own in a fight. Me or Lydia?" He gave me puppy dog eyes. I laughed and sat on a cushion.

"Sorry but I'm gonna have to go with the odds. Lydia would beat the crap out of you." I said.

"Who's Lydia going to beat the crap out of?" Jackson asked as he walked through the door.

"Stiles." Allison told him.

He grinned. "I would PAY to see that!" Everyone laughed.

"Where's Derek?" Scott asked, placing a bag of pizza boxes on the coffee table. "Pizzas here."

"He's sulking." Erica told him, glancing at me.

"Oh. Ok." He said, as if that one glance explained everything. I huffed, suddenly feeling like an outsider. Allison sensed it and put an arm around my shoulder, smiling reassuringly.

"Mer, don't worry. Who knows what goes through Derek's head. He's just being Derek," she said. I nodded, and we all tucked into the pizza. The group broke into conversations, banter flying actions the group.

"Lovers spat?" Jackson asked me. Lydia hit him in the chest.

"Jackson!" she hissed at him.

"Ha-ha." I said dryly.

"Ok, what shall we play?" asked Stiles.

"We are NOT playing video games" Lydia stated. He sighed.

"Well what do you wanna do?" Scott asked.

"Let's play charades!" Allison suggested. All the boys groaned.

"Yeah!" Lydia agreed eagerly.

"Fine. But then we get to play Modern Warfare, ok?" Stiles said.

"Deal." Lydia said. "Girls versus boys." We each wrote something someone could act out and shuffled them up. Nearing the end of the game, the girls were winning five- two. Scott was up next. He looked at his card then frowned quizzically. He got on the floor, hands curled into paws up by his face. He tutted his teeth.

"Bunny!" shouted Allison.

"Rabbit! Chipmunk! Cat! Dog!" cried Lydia.

"Wolf!" I joined in. "Werewolf!" I screamed.

"Time up." Jackson said, smirking.

"It was beaver!" Scott cried, frustrated.

"Werewolf?!" Stiles asked, turning to me.

I shrugged. "How the hell was I supposed to know what he was doing!"

"But werewolf? Seriously?!"

"Well how am I supposed to know what werewolves do?!" I asked. "Mr I'm an expert."

"I don't know, but they don't do THAT!"

"Oh, scared I'm going to find out about your secret identity? Stiles, werewolf man!" I said, laughing.

"Are you a werewolf, Stiles?" I realised the whole room was silent, and everyone was staring at me as if I'd just told them Hitler was my mum. My face fell. "What?" I asked them. They all shifted uncomfortably.

"You ARE a werewolf Stiles!" I cried.

"What are you doing?" Derek snapped from the doorway. I hadn't realised he was there, and we all turned to look at him, his face dark.

"Playing charades." Lydia told him, innocently.

"Did you tell her?!"

"No! Do you think we're idiots?!" Scott said.

"Um, tell me what guys?" I asked. "Is Stiles really a werewolf?" I asked jokingly. Allison shot me a 'shut up' look.

"Well, I personally think she has a right to know. She can't keep hanging around with us without knowing anything. She'll think we are keeping secrets from her." Lydia said.

"We _are_ keeping secrets from her." Stiles pointed out. I stayed quiet. What were they talking about? I was officially scared.

"Are you guys in a gang?" I asked nervously.

"Why does everyone assume that?" Boyd asked.

"Well it's more likely than the truth." Stiles said.

"What is the truth?!" I snapped. "You can't just stand here in front of me discussing some big secret, and then expect me to wait for you to say something." They all turned to me, then back to Derek.

"Come on, Derek. I know you didn't want to get her involved in this, we underst-"Scott started, until Derek silenced him with a look.

"Fine. Tell her. You can all be responsible for the consequences. But just the essentials." he growled, then turned to me. "Don't ever tell anyone about this. If you do..." he trailed off threateningly. I nodded and he stormed back upstairs.

"Mer take a seat." Allison said. I did.

"Basically, last year, Scott got bitten by an animal. Turns out it was actually Derek's uncle, Peter. He's kind of a werewolf. At the next full moon, Scott turned," Stiles said, then paused gauging my reaction. I stayed silent, unsure whether this was some kind of joke. "He's um, kind of a werewolf. Anyway...long story short, Derek became the Alpha after he killed his uncle who went slightly cray-cray. He bit Jackson, Lydia, Isaac, Erica then Boyd. Lydia's immune and there was this big thing with Jackson, but apart from Allison, Lydia, you and me, everyone here is a werewolf. We're all part of Derek's pack. That's why last weekend we couldn't hang out with you- it was a full moon. Oh, and Peter kind of came back to life. But he's on our side now. I think." he finished, and I realised that this was all the explanation I was gonna get. I looked around the room, everyone's faces deadly serious. I had no idea what to say.

"Alpha?" I managed to choke out.

"Leader of the pack." Lydia supplied. I nodded, trying to take it all in.

"I need. I need...proof. For all I know, you guys are pulling a massive prank on the naive new girl." they nodded and Scott stepped forward. I watched as his face morphed, so it was half wolf- half human. His eyes flashed gold. Quickly, he turned back to his usual self, probably trying not to freak me out too much.

"We have advanced senses and strength, which is how I knew you'd been with Derek- I could smell his scent on you. It's how Erica's epilepsy got cured- we heal really quickly. It's why Derek and y-"

"-It's why Derek's such a jackass." Stiles broke in, sending Scott a warning look. I barely noticed it, trying to digest what they were saying.

"Can I please go home? I need to think..." I said. They all nodded.

"I'll take you." Stiles offered. I accepted and we climbed into his jeep after I'd said goodbye to everyone. Apart from Derek, who remained upstairs, even though he must have heard us leave. As we departed, I could have sworn I saw his figure in a darkened window upstairs. When I looked again, it was gone.

* * *

**AN- So...MER KNOWS! ASDFGJKL. And what was Scott going to say before Stiles cut him off...? Thanks to all you guys who are reading this and to those who have favourited and followed this story! And to those who have taken the time to review, I LOVE YOU! Next chapter will be posted on friday! And it will feature the Halloween Party...and Derek's there. And another guy. Cue werewolf action and feels! ;D So until then...bye! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight  
"Discovered"**

The next couple of weeks I spent asking questions which the pack were happy to answer, although I got the feeling they were keeping something from me. Something big. But I shook it off, blaming it once again on my own paranoia. I'd learnt about Allison and her family's history, the pack had filled me in on Derek's family and past and I felt as if I knew a whole new side to him. I'd even been allowed to watch a training session- although Derek had been very strict about not letting me join in. That had been the only time I'd seen him too. He barely even glanced at me throughout the session and as soon as it was finished, disappeared into his house. Not that I had anything to say really. Stiles on the other hand, had been spending a lot of time at our house though, although not for me. Lizbeth and he were spending a lot of time together, much to Reese's annoyance. He mostly just cooked dinner for us while Lizbeth sat and watched him dreamily. I left them to it. Unfortunately, two weeks after I'd been told of 'the Secret', I felt I had to step in. I woke up on Saturday morning, the day of the Halloween Party feeling fresh and decided to go on one of my early morning runs. But as I passed Lizbeth's room in the hall, I saw her bed empty as her door was open a crack. I searched the rest of the house silently, but couldn't find her anywhere. As I walked out the front door, I had a nagging suspicion as to where she was, and headed to Stiles' house. Lizbeth had been home when I had gone to bed, but I'd retired early and knowing Lizbeth, she'd found a way to fool our parents. I knocked on Stiles' door, slightly out of breath.  
It opened, and I was faced by Stiles, standing in boxers and a t shirt. He started when he saw it was me.

"Hi Stiles." I smirked. "Nice bed head. Is your dad home?"

"My dad? No he's not here- he had the night shift. I was all alone last night," he said, looking guilty.

"Uh-huh." I said suspiciously, just as I heard another set of footsteps on the stairs. "So can you explain as to why my younger sister is standing behind you on the stairs in one of your Kings Of Leon t-shirts?" I asked. He blushed furiously.

"Um..."

"She's sixteen, Stiles! You're lucky I found her bed empty instead of my parents or worse my brother. Just wait until he finds out about this!" I said. "You're in deep shit." I told him.

"Mer, we only slept!" I gave him a look. "Ok, we maybe made out a bit, but that was it! God, what do you take me for?!" he asked.

"A horny idiot." I replied. Lizbeth appeared at the door, a sheepish look on her face. She'd changed into yesterday's clothes.

"Please don't tell Reese!" she pleaded. I decided to let her sweat for a bit by not replying. Instead I turned to Stiles.

"I'll see you tonight." He nodded, and Lizbeth stepped out of the door. We set off.

"Lizbeth..." I started. She looked at me apprehensively. "I trust you and I trust Stiles. But you need to think a bit before you act. You've known him two months!" She nodded.

"I promise, Mer. All we did was talk. And some other stuff. But I'm not like that! You know I'm not."

I nodded. "I know. That's why I'm not telling anyone. And maybe also because Stiles deserves to reach his next birthday. But still. Promise me you'll be careful."

She nodded, and sighed in relief.  
"So are you going to Danny's party tonight?" I asked her.  
"I was one of the few sophomores asked but my friends are having another party so I decided to go to that one instead. And if Stiles saw me in my costume he wouldn't be able to keep his hands of me." She smirked. I rolled my eyes, but laughed along with her. That was Stiles alright.

* * *

The rest of my day was spent with Lydia, Allison and Erica, all of whom took the whole day to get me ready for the party. Apparently, I needed to make a good impression at my first party in Beacon Hills, but I thought my idea of good impression was slightly different to Lydia's. But I let them prepare me anyway.

"Ok, I think we're good. You can look now!" Lydia cried, once the sky outside my windows had gone dark.

"Finally" I muttered. I stood and face my floor length mirror. And did a double take. My feet were clad in golden gladiator sandals, which wound up my legs. I wore a white dress that draped across one shoulder and fell at the front to my knees and trailed to my mid calfs at the back. Golden bracelets encircled my arms, making them seem longer and more graceful. My long hair was tied in a plait at the front that curled behind my ear. The rest of my hair lay naturally over my shoulders, but they had dip-died the ends a light golden colour, that set off my dark blonde roots. My face was subtly made up, with darker eyebrows and eyes that seemed as round as saucers. They were a dark silver with lots of black and grey eyeliner. My lips were a dark reddish pink. I looked like a fierce Greek Goddess.

"Wha..." was all I could manage.

"Cool, huh?" replied Lydia, smiling, obviously pleased with the result. The other girls nodded.

"Thank you so much you guys!" I gave them all a hug. We then set to work on getting them all ready. The end result was amazing. Lydia (of course) looked amazing in her outfit, even while covered in blood and smudges in dark shadows. Erica looked the perfect Aphrodite, her blonde hair twisted into a complicated up-do entwined with small dark pink flowers, a short pink dress setting off her natural tan and was perfect to finish off the whole sexy look. Allison looked the image of Artemis, in a long silver dress and her long dark hair left down, decorated with silver accessories. She had her quiver slung over one shoulder and her bow in one hand.

"Perfect!" Lydia squealed. We heard the doorbell ring and Reese answer it.

"Mer! It's Stiles for you!" he called. We walked down stairs. Lizbeth was in the hallway with him, dressed as cat woman, in a black suit that clung to her. Reese was watching them tensely.

"Hi guys! You look awesome!" Stiles said, and with a quick peck on Lizbeth's cheek led us outside.  
I turned to my mum and gave her a quick kiss. He was dressed as one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I rolled my eyes at his inner geek.

"You look beautiful, Meredith. But be careful, ok?" She asked, her eyes crinkled and I nodded.

"Of course I will" I told her then followed the others to the jeep. Scott was waiting in the front, dressed as another turtle and us girls squeezed in the back.

"Wow, guys you look amazing." he said, and I saw his eyes linger on Allison . When we arrived at Danny's, the place was already packed. Even though the evening was chilly, loads of people were on his lawn. The house had been decorated with all your average tacky Halloween decor; there were a few coffins dotted around, a few mummies and the house was bathed in flickering green light. I followed the others to the front door, shivering in my thin dress. The door opened by Danny, a guy I'd rarely seen around school, but who had still bothered to learn my name.

"Hi guys!" He said, "Party's this way." Behind him there were people everywhere you looked. I could see none of the furniture or how the house was decorated, just people milling around, dancing to really loud music. He showed us to the refreshment table, basically a table topped with every kind of alcohol you could imagine. "The non-alcoholic stuffs at this end!" He shouted over the noise, then weaved away through the crowd. We all grabbed a drink- I was the only one who got non-alcoholic. I'd only gotten drunk once at some guy's party back in England, and the next morning vowed to never do it again. Lydia left to try to find Jackson and after a couple of minutes, Isaac and Boyd found us. We were all just dancing, and I found myself having a really good time and letting go.

"Oh my gosh, Meredith! You can dance!" Allison shouted over the music.

I shrugged, "Really?" I asked. She nodded.

"Uh,yeah! Those guys are totally checking you out." I whipped round to see a group of five boys, a few of whom I recognised from my classes. One of the cuter guys, who had wavy brown hair and a lip ring, waved at me and, miraculously, I didn't blush. I actually felt confident. I smiled coyly, then carried on dancing, rotating my hips into Erica's. She smiled, and we dancing together, each trying to outdo the other. I jumped onto a table and started dancing on that. People cheered and I dropped down, and then wound my hips back up. I saw some of the Pack exchange a couple of glances, but I ignored them, letting go. After an hour, and four Sprites later I left the room, just to cool down. I had been dancing nonstop the whole party, and my head felt amazingly fuzzy and I was starting to feel amazing. I found Danny's back door and stood outside for a minute or two. Unlike Danny's front lawn, the backyard was empty and I gladly breathed the fresh air. I jumped when the door opened, and the guy who had waved at me earlier walked out.

"Oh, hi." he said, sounding happily surprised.

"Hi." I said. Was that really my voice? I actually sounded pretty sexy.

"You look really good, Mer," he said, leaning towards me. I stepped forward, surprised he knew my name. I tried to recall his, knowing that I did know it, but my brain refused to co-operate.

"So do you." I glanced up the length of his body and smiled. He was dressed as a werewolf. Before my brain could stop myself, I leant forward and slowly kissed him. He smiled slowly, then kissed me back, tongue flicking on my lips. I eagerly opened them, and his tongue found its way into my mouth. My hands slid up to around his neck, and I felt his around my waist, fingers gripping my rib cage. He moaned slightly, and I couldn't help but react, my hands grabbing his hair, my body pressing closer against his. He kissed me harder, his hands slipping slightly down to my hips, then skimmed lightly over my bum and onto the backs of my thighs, lifting me slightly so my back was against the wall. I lifted my legs so they were wrapped around his waist, and he pressed his groin harder against me. I gasped, my mouth leaving his and his lips found my collarbone, sucking lightly. I quickly grabbed his head and pulled his lips back to mine, and sucked slowly on his lip ring. Just as he moaned again, the door slammed open, and my head whipped to the doorway.

"Mer-what the HELL?!" Derek stood, his figure dark in the bright hallway. The guy put me down quickly and I wiped my lipstick from the corner of my mouth, where it had smudged. I crossed my arms defiantly.

"What?" I asked. He just grabbed my arms, pulling me inside. Scott and Lydia were standing behind him and they pulled me inside, quickly away from Derek, who had started on the guy. Jake- that was his name. He was yelling at him, his face angry, but suddenly I couldn't hear it and the room started swaying. I felt Scott's arms tighten around me as I dropped to the floor, the world swallowed whole by darkness.

* * *

Derek whipped round as soon as he heard Meredith's heart beat slow. His own skipped a beat as she collapsed in Scott's arms, who was looking at her in shock. He roared, and was at her side in seconds.

"What...?" Scott started, gazing at Meredith's peaceful face.

"I smell alcohol in her system," he said, grimly. "I'll take her home." Derek could barely contain his anger. How could the girl have been so stupid? Who the hell was that guy? And why hadn't Derek been there for her? He spotted Erica and Isaac through the crowd, who'd seemed to have sensed something was wrong. When Erica saw Meredith on the floor, her eyes widened and she was with them in a flash.

"She's drunk!" she gasped. "Call 911!" she said. Scott looked at her dumbly.

"She just collapsed from drinking too much," he told her.

"Meredith can't drink! She's on medication! It's some kind of steroid...I don' t know its name. Call an ambulance now!" she snapped.

"There's not enough time. Take her to my car!" Derek growled, his heart pounding. Damn that girl. Why had she done this? Why the hell had he believed her that night in the hospital? Why did he care so much? He'd heard her heart skip a beat, but had ignored it, choosing to trust her. Derek pushed the thoughts from his head, instead clearing a path with a glare for Scott who still held Meredith in his arms. They weaved through the party, and he ignored everybody, focusing on getting the girl out of there as fast as possible. They reached his car, and he had the engine revved before Scott had even managed to climb in. Erica stayed behind to get the others. Derek drove at over a hundred miles an hour, no seatbelt on, trying to get to the hospital as quickly as he possibly could. He didn't care about anyone else on the road's safety, just about getting Meredith to the hospital, where she could get help. Scott was trying to take her pain away, but it wasn't really working; the girl wasn't in pain- her body's organs were just shutting down one by one as the alcohol entered her blood stream. He should have known. The girl's scent was always laced with another smell, but he'd never put much thought into it. They reached the hospital in less than a minute, and Scott ran out through the doors to the ER. Derek was close behind, shouting for a doctor.

"What's wrong?" a man in scrubs asked, running toward them.

"She drank with medication. I don't know what it's called." Derek told him. "It'll be in her history. Her name's Meredith Greene."

"Dr Greene's daughter?" He gasped. Derek nodded. She was quickly whisked away by the doctors, and Derek felt relief course through his veins. He dropped to his knees, and Scott patted him on the back.

"She's gonna be alright, dude." he told Derek.

* * *

Derek paced up and down the hall, head in his hands. The pack were sat along the corridor, piled on the various chairs, looking half asleep and half wide awake with worry. He'd avoided the doctors once Meredith's condition had been declared stable, so as to not raise any more suspicions about it, and after that the police, who were trying to find the culprit who'd spiked Meredith's drink. He couldn't believe how he'd almost lost it, barely managing to contain his wolf in the swirl of raw emotions he'd felt. Now all that was left was anger. And he was making sure his pack knew it.

"Erica, you're telling me you _knew _about her condition, didn't tell anyone, then left her alone at a party where alcohol was everywhere? Why didn't you keep an eye on her?" He asked for the millionth time, trying to focus his anger on something instead of letting his mind dwell on why he was getting so worked up about this.

"I told you. I know Meredith. She wouldn't have drank even if she wasn't ill. I trusted her to be okay. And we all saw her take sprites, so we didn't think she would actually get drunk," she said, although guilt was etched across her face, and Derek almost felt bad for pinning this all on her, when he knew it wasn't really her fault at all.

"And you, surely you could all see she was drunk off her head!" Derek growled to the group. "She could have had alcohol poisoning!"

"Well for all we knew that's how British chicks party!" Stiles said, his arms flailing as usual.

"We need to tell her," came Allison's calm voice. They all turned to her. "We need to tell her about the alpha pack! She doesn't know what she's getting into. If they come sniffing around again, which they inevitably will, they'll find her and she won't have a clue what's going on!"

They sat in silence, staring between Derek and Allison in shock. Derek's eyes narrowed. Stiles cut in, trying to change the subject so as to not get Allison into too much trouble for defying the Alpha's orders.

" Why are you so worked up about this anyway?! You were the one who didn't want to tell her anything, didn't want her a part of the pack, but now you're all touchy feely about her? She thinks you hate her!" Scott lay a hand on Stiles' arm, shooting him a look. Derek didn't answer. How could he when he didn't know the answer himself?

* * *

Not for the first time, I woke up in hospital, although this time with a pounding headache. I blinked. My room was dark, the only light coming from between the slats of the blind on the window and the crack between the door and the floor. As soon as I sat up, the door opened quietly and Derek walked in. He looked his usual self, albeit slightly ruffled. He just stood there, silent, for a few moments then-  
"What the hell were you thinking of?!" he demanded, walking over to the side of my bed.

"I didn't have any alcohol. I swear! Just some Sprite!" I said defensively.

"Not that. It was obviously spiked. If I find out who did that..."he trailed off scowling. "What were you thinking when you kissed that douche bag! Do you even know his name?! He could have been a rapist!" He asked.

"Um...A) it's Jake. I think. B) I wasn't exactly thinking! The alcohol took care of that. And C) what gave you the right to care? And what happened... afterwards? Where're my parents?" I asked, my questions coming out in a jumble.

"We got you to the hospital. They pumped your stomach and gave you some stabilisers. Luckily, you passed out not long after drinking and it never actually reached your blood stream. The whole packs outside, asleep. Your parents are downstairs in the cafeteria getting coffee. They were surprised to see us all here, but I think they're glad that you've got the support. The police were around here earlier as well, so you might have to give a statement." he told me, starting to get up.

"Wait!" I cried, my hand shooting of its own accord on to his forearm. He stopped, tense and turned to face me. I could feel his muscles ripple beneath his long sleeved shirt, and jerked my hand away, hoping the room was too dark for him to see my blush. "I, um...can you please just wait until my parents get back? I don't really like hospitals," I said sheepishly. He nodded slowly, then sat back down, his jaw clenched. I tried to ignore that, pretending he was just some other guy, but bathed in the golden light streaming in from the open door, he looked like a Greek god. That reminded me.

"Where's my costume?!" I asked. He shrugged.

"They probably cut it off. They always do that in all the medical dramas," he said.

I smirked. "You watch medical dramas?"

"Only ER." he said, his eyes challenging me to say something.

"Oh. I guess I always thought you just hung around in your creepy Scooby Doo house being creepy all day. Huh."

He just rolled his eyes, and lapsed into silence. My eyes closed of their own accord and I was enveloped by sleep.

When I woke again, I jerked in shock. Eight pairs of eyes were watching me, faces close to mine.

"Hi", Allison said gently. Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Stiles, Scott, Lydia and Jackson were crowded around my bed, watching me intently.

"Hi", I croaked back. My throat was dry and my stomach felt empty.

"We have to leave now- its school in less than a half hour. But we just wanted to let you know we're here for you." Allison continued. The group nodded and Erica placed a hand on my arm comfortingly.

"I kind of had to tell them", she told me. I nodded.

"That's okay. You guys told me a pretty big secret, I guess it was time I told mine." I was expecting 'the look', but they were all looking at me the exact same way they always had, except they looked as if they understood me a bit better.

Jackson cleared his throat. "Um, sorry to interrupt this touching moment, but we are going to be late for school." They slowly filed out after saying goodbye.

"Oh, Allison," I called just as she was about to leave. She turned. "Where's Derek?"  
She shrugged, giving me a look of sympathy. "He's off being Derek." she paused. "We all really need to talk to you." She said seriously, then left the room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**"Confessing"**

I should have known this moment was inevitable. As much as I'd wanted to, you couldn't run from your past. You had to embrace it and learn from it. What I could learn from being shot at three times I'll never know, but it's nice to be positive.

"I was at school," I started, the pack, minus Derek gathered around his living room, "We were at lunch. I didn't feel anything, it all happened so fast. I looked down and there was blood. I passed out before I could see who'd done it.  
A guy had managed to get into the school, and for some reason decided to go around with a gun. He got locked up somewhere back home. A teacher managed to beat him up with a rounder's bat before he could shoot anyone else.  
The first bullet entered my heart- I can't really remember the exact medical jargon, my dad would know though. The next two hit me in the stomach, puncturing my abs. The doctors performed extensive surgery, but there was so much damage to the interior of my body, they induced a coma. I was unconscious for six months and in hospital for another couple of weeks, but by that time my body had healed as much as was possible and there wasn't much else for the doctors to do. I couldn't remember the shooting at all so I was a bit shocked to wake up after half a year.  
I went back to school soon after but everything had changed. My friends had new friends, I was so far behind on my GCSEs there would have Ben no point in taking them, and I basically had no life there anymore. Sure, my friends tried, but even they gave me that look of pure pity which they think is sympathy but really just makes me feel worse. My family knew that it was being so hard for me, and a month after I was released from hospital, they decided to move out here- I'd always wanted to live in America. At first I was reluctant, thinking that being with strangers would be worse than at least being with people I used to know. But I fell in love with the place as soon as we moved here." I finished, smiling. They all looked at me speechless, even though they'd already heard the story from Erica. I'd been in hospital exactly 24 hours and had been let out late last night. Scott had invited us all round to the Hale house for a big discussion, which I'd been dreading. Now I realised there had been nothing to worry about.

"So...moral of the story, lets never get Mer drunk again!" Stiles said and the mood instantly lightened.

"Yeah, that was one _fiery_ kiss." Isaac teased. I blushed and they laughed.

"We didn't think you had it in you." Jackson said, smirking.

"Hey, lay off Mer," Lydia said, and I gave her a grateful smile, "us girls are the only ones who get to hear every detail." I groaned, and the boys all laughed, moving towards the TV to play yet another video game.

"So...give us the gossip!" Lydia said. I looked to Allison for help but she just smirked.

"I want to know too," she told me.

"Fine. He waved to me, then an hour later we made out like a couple of horny drunk teenagers. It wasn't anything special." I told them, much to their disappointment.

"Nothing like what it would be like with Derek..." Erica said.

"Let that go! He's been avoiding me since last night." I said.

"Wait, what happened last night?" Allison asked.

" I woke up, Derek was awake and he was actually civil to me."

"Derek? Civil?! Are you sure you weren't still drunk? Or he was?!" Lydia said.

"I most certainly wasn't." Came a low voice from behind us. We all turned to see Derek emerge from the shadows of his Entrance Hall, and I blushed hoping he hadn't heard what we'd just discussed. His hair glistened with the rain from outside, and the droplet ran onto his leather jacket. I tried and failed not to drool.

"You need to go home." he told me. "Your family's worried." I nodded, looking around the room for an offer for a lift.

"I can drive you." he said, and turned to leave. Lydia raised her eyebrows at me.

"Hot car sex. It's the best kind!" she whispered to me. The werewolves all snickered, and I rolled my eyes and followed Derek out of the house.

The werewolves all snickered, and I rolled my eyes and followed Derek out of the house. We sat in the car in silence, but this time, it was definitely uncomfortable. When we finally pulled up at my house, I breathed a sigh of relief. Not that I didn't mind being in a confined space with Derek , but I couldn't handle the serious tension building.

"So...this was pleasantly uncomfortable." I said, reaching for the door handle. He still didn't say anything. "Well...bye." I didn't wait for his reply and climbed out of his car. Before I'd even reached the porch, I heard him drive away.

* * *

Once again, Reese and I were on grocery shopping duty. Even though I'd been in hospital less than twenty four hours ago, my parents had deemed me well enough to be able to go to the store. It sucked when your dad was a doctor- you couldn't play the ill card- and having a teacher as a mother- they had built-in lie detectors.  
We walked out into the lot and emptied the trolley into the boot of the car. Reese offered to take the empty trolley back to the bay and I was left to shut the boot. I turned to get back into the passenger's seat, but suddenly a man stood before me, blocking my path. He inhaled deeply, a smile spreading across his face.

"Tantalising." He said. He had straggly pale blonde hair that reached his chin, and a wide set face that many would find attractive, but I just found him creepy.

"Um...hi?" I said, looking around the lot for Reese. Unfortunately, we were parked at the back of the lot and I couldn't see the trolley bay from here.

"So good to finally meet you." Came another gruff voice, somehow seductively. I turned and another man stood close being me, arms crossed. He was the opposite of the other man; thin, tall, and dark.

"We've been waiting to get you alone." the first one said. I was severely creeped out now.

"I have no idea who you are, and I will call the police if you come any closer." I said, my voice wavering.

"You don't want to do that, Sweetheart." The second guy said. I shuddered at his use of the petname, but gasped when his eyes flashed a brilliant red, and claws appeared at his fingertips. "I can see why the Hale pack are so interested in you." Once again, they both inhaled, leaning closer to me. I froze, too shocked to speak.

"That scent. Never smelt anything like it." The first guy said.

"Glad you find me so appealing. Now please leave me alone." I barged past the fair one to the passengers door. Before I could reach it, both my arms were grabbed, and I was pulled round to face the two men.

"We're not finished here yet." The first one growled.

"Surprising how you weren't at all shocked by my...special abilities." The dark one said quietly.

"I've seen better." I shrugged, defiantly. His face spread into a dark grin.

"Oh,really? So you do know about us..."

I nodded. "So please just piss off, because I will get my Pack on your ass!"

"Ooh," the fair one chuckled, "scary!"

"Meredith?" Called a familiar voice from behind us. Within a second, the two wolves were gone, and Reese jogged towards me. "Are you ok?! Who were those guys?"  
I shifted, still shaken by the whole experience. I'd never really thought about there being other werewolves.

"Um...I'm fine, it was nothing." I said, climbing quickly into the car to avoid his penetrating gaze.

"Nothing?! You can't expect me to believe that, Mer!" He said as he got into the driver's seat.

I shrugged, trying not to let my growing shock show. "Really, I don't know who they were but they weren't giving me any trouble...they just asked for a dollar for the parking charge. I told them I didn't have any." I blustered through the lie.

"So why the hell where they holding onto your arms?!" I was avoiding his gaze, but could feel his anger and confusion build beside me.

"I don't know...they were pretty creepy." I confessed. "But I'm fine now!"  
He was silent for a moment, I guess to decide whether or not to believe me.

"Are you in a gang?" He asked suddenly, quietly.

"What?! No!" I cried, shaking my head vigorously, finally turning to face him.

"Doing drugs?"

"You know I wouldn't! Look what happened last night! I'm not stupid!" Bringing up last night was not a good idea.

" And what happened last night? Don't your friends care about you?! Have you still not told them? Why did you let anyone spike your drink, you need to be more careful! Ever since you came here, you've been different. I'm worried about you, Mer. There's been rumours about you and some guy Derek Hale flying around! What am I supposed to believe? I asked around, and my buddies told me he's been in constant trouble with the police over the last couple of years! He lives in a totally abandoned house, middle of nowhere." He finally stopped, breathing hard from the outburst. I sat there, speechless. Reese rarely got angry, and I could tell it was only because he was so worried about me, but now I was angry too.

"Last night, somebody- I don't know who and if I ever find out I will seriously kick their ass- spiked my drink. You think I enjoyed that?! Think I liked being in hospital throughout the night, my stomach pumped, putting the people I care most about in more worry?! You know I don't go to parties to drink and do drugs and have sex with endless guys! Neither do my friends! They were there for me! It was my fault they had no idea what was going on because I'd chosen not to tell them! I know that was a big mistake now, but I know you understand why I kept it from them! I told them everything earlier, and I'm glad I did. And about those rumours...you're believing rumours about me now?! Don't you trust me?! I told you they weren't true, it was just my friend Stiles messing around! Ok, yeah, maybe Derek was in trouble with the police, but he's been cleared of all charges! And maybe he _does_ live in an old house, but it's all he's got left of his family! Who nearly all died in a fire!" I cried. Then sat in shock, realising I had just defended Derek Hale. Who I barely knew, and had really only been nice to me twice, and the rest of the time been a complete ass, and who right now seemed to be ignoring me altogether.

"So you do care about Hale?" Reese asked, his voice softer now, all trace of anger gone. "I'm sorry Mer, I didn't mean...I just...you know how I worry about you. We all do. And we're all so happy you've found this group of friends, who seem really great by the way. Even Stilinski." I smiled. "And I guess I'm happy you like someone. I should've asked you about him first, not believed some crap other people said who barely knew him. But I just hope he cares about you in the same way you do." What?!

"Reese, what? You've got this all wrong! I do not like Derek, there is nothing going on between us! I barely know the guy, he's just friends with my friends!" I said.

He sighed in relief. "Phew! Because I was seriously contemplating going all big brother on him, but have you seen that guy? He's pretty freaking scary! And he's like six years older than you!" I laughed at his protectiveness.

"Come on, let's go home." I said, nearly forgetting what had just happened. I had to tell the others, quickly.

* * *

I'd finally gotten up to my room alone, and it was already dark. All evening I'd been freaking out over the two werewolves and how they'd found me, scared they could find me again in my house. But I'd had to keep calm and happy for my family, who for once were all assembled for a family meal. Now I strode across my room quickly, reaching for my phone. Who should I call? I didn't have Derek's house number- did he even own a phone? I decided on Scott, and dialled the number. Before the first dial tone rang out, the phone was snatched from my hand. I spun and jerked backwards in shock. For the second time, Derek Hale stood in my room. Only his eyes were visible in the gloom, reflecting the street lights coming through the window. He stepped forward, his usual frown upon his face, and took a long sniff. His frown deepened, and he buried his nose in my neck and inhaled again. I stood frozen to the spot, knowing he would hear my heartbeat thunder as his hard, muscled torso pressed against my...less muscled torso. He still hadn't said anything, just started smelling me.

"Um...what?" I squeaked. He stepped away from me in a split second, and I reached for the lamp beside my bed.

"Who were you with today?" He growled, not even bothering with greetings or explanations.

"I was actually just calling to tell you guys." I sat on the bed, and he gave me an impatient look. "I was at the store with Reese earlier and two guys came up to me. They were werewolves." He growled.

"What did they say?"

I shrugged. "Not much. They waited until I was alone, and told me I smelt good. Then they asked if I knew you guys and what you were. I said yes, and then Reese came round the corner, called my name and they were gone." I said. "Who were they? Do you know them?"

He stood in silence. "You...told them you knew us?" I nodded slowly. He rubbed his face with his hand in exasperation. "Why the hell would you tell them that? Do you have a death wish?! Fuck!" he shouted.

"Sssh!" I hissed. "My family are downstairs!"

He just growled again. "Do you have any idea how much danger you have just put us in!"

"Maybe I would if you actually told me anything!" I cried.

"I have told you all you need to know! But you decided to pass that on to a couple do strangers! I knew we shouldn't have let you near the pack!" he shouted. "Just stay away from us! Stay away from the pack, from me. Don't approach them unless someone is in your lesson and it is vital. Do not speak to those guys again, or anyone else like them. Just call for help and one of us will hear." Without waiting for a reply, he was out the window.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten  
"Confrontation"**

"Mer!" Scott cried, nearly knocking me over as he rushed towards me as soon as my feet touched the ground. "Are you ok?" The rest of the Pack were close behind, and they now gathered around me in the school parking lot.

I nodded. "Yeah. I guess Derek told you?" They nodded.

"He also told us to stay away from you, like _that's_ going to happen," Erica said.

"Aren't you going to do what he says? If it keeps you guys safe, I really don't mind... " They exchanged glances.

"In case you haven't realised, we never do what Derek tells us." Erica said, before anyone else could reply. They nodded, smirking.  
I smiled. "Thanks. I just have one question. Do you guys know who they were?"

I saw Allison give the group a challenging look.

"Um...no...they, uh..." Scott started, just as the first bell rang. He sighed in relief, and practically ran away from me and my questions.

* * *

"Derek we can't keep this up! We have no idea when the Alphas are going to strike- ever since they cornered Boyd and Erica they've been completely MIA, but now this!" Allison said urgently. The pack nodded in agreement.

"We didn't tell her who those guys were but if she stays in the dark, how can she protect herself?" Scott asked. Derek slammed a fist into the table in frustration; not at the Pack, but at the whole situation.

"She won't need too! We can protect her!" He replied.

"Why won't you tell her? The Alpha Pack approached her- they obviously have an interest in her. We can't protect her from something she doesn't know about," Scott repeated. "You think you're protecting her but you're not!" he was getting worked up now.

"Look, Derek," Isaac started, his voice calm, "We understand why you're doing this-"

"What?!" Derek snapped. "There's nothing to understand. This all comes down to you all deciding to open your big mouths, and now the Alpha Pack know our weakest link!"

"Meredith isn't our weakest link! She's really strong and fiery and passionate- she's not stupid! You just can't get it into your thick skull maybe she doesn't need you!" Lydia said. Jackson placed an arm on her shoulder, telling her to stop. She, however, continued, "You shouldn't be angry with her for something she didn't realise she shouldn't do! If you just accepted her as part of the pack, she wouldn't have said anything, she would know about the Alpha Pack and we'd ALL be a heck of a lot safer!"

"I wasn't angry with her!" He snapped, his eyes flashing red as he stood from his dining table. "I was angry with myself." He muttered, so quietly that only the werewolves in the room's sensitive hearing could pick it up, then stormed from the room.

* * *

All week, I noticed the pack more on edge than ever, always alert for if the two werewolves returned. They also never left me alone; I always had at least two wolves flanking me, and even when I went to the bathroom both Erica and either Allison or Lydia had to escort me. I was actually glad to be finally alone in my own house by the end of each day, and was happy to even catch up on homework- although that may have been spurred more by the fact Mr Harris had threatened detention if all my outstanding homeworks weren't completed by the end of the week. I'd tried explaining to him that I had in fact been in hospital earlier that week, but he hadn't cared. The rest of the school, however, did.

People who I'd never seen before in my life had been coming up to me and wishing me to get better soon. Although no one had spread the reason as to why we'd moved here, everyone still knew what'd happened at the party. Much to the boys of Pack's disappointment, I'd forbidden all tracking down of the person who's spiked my drink, although they'd decided that Jake wasn't to be trusted. When I'd returned to school two days after the party, I'd avoided him all day. I didn't really know what to say. I didn't think he was the one to spike my drink, and I wasn't angry at him but I was really embarrassed; it had actually only been the second time in my life I'd kissed someone, and the first time hadn't really counted, considering it had been a dare and I had been twelve. I was so glad I hadn't said that when Lydia had asked for the details, because if Derek had heard that, I may have died. And although he was cute, the kiss had totally been alcohol-fuelled. When I'd finally left school at the end of the day, I breathed a sigh of relief that I hadn't bumped into him. I immediately took it back when I spotted a familiar black Camaro pulled up on the road a couple of spaces away. I ignored it, acting like I hadn't spoken to the Pack these past couple of days. Before I could cross the road to where I could see Reese in his truck, I felt a tapping on my shoulder. I turned and inwardly groaned when I saw who it was.

"Hi Jake," I said sheepishly, staring at my converse.

"Hi." he said, gently. "Listen, Meredith, I wanted to say I'm really sorry about what happened at Danny's party. I didn't realise you and Hale were dating, and if I'd known you were drunk, I never would have...you know..." Nervously, he rubbed the back of his neck.

"What? No, I'm not dating Derek Hale! But thanks." I said, smiling up at him.

"Oh. Ok. But I'm also really sorry for what happened to you after that. I hope you're ok."

I nodded. "I'm fine. Really, it was a simple procedure, they just-"

"Hi." I was cut off by Scott's growl. He turned to me. "Mer, you ok?" he shot a pointed look at Jake.

"Yes! We're just talking!" I protested. He didn't look convinced and eyed Jake with suspicion.

"Hey, Scott." he said, trying to be friendly. Scott ignored him.

"Meredith you should go to Reese," he said in a low voice. I folded my arms, starting to get slightly angry.

"Scott, you can't decide who I can and can't talk to." I said. "And neither can you Derek!" I called to where he was now standing by his car, watching the exchange with his usual frown. A small group of people has stopped as they walked out of school to see what was going on. I saw Erica, Isaac and Stiles exit school and see us.

"Meredith, someone spiked you drink, they almost got you killed! How'd you know it wasn't this dickwad? He didn't seem that concerned when he had his tongue down your throat and now he's 'sorry'!" Scott said.

"Hey-" Jake started, the beginnings of annoyance on his face. "This wasn't a big deal, I was just speaking to Meredith. Since when was that illegal?" Stiles, Erica, Boyd and Isaac had all joined us now, Allison and Lydia watching with concern. Reese had started walking our way, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Derek watching us broodily, arms crossed.

"Dude, come on." Stiles said urgently to Scott, tugging his arm, although I could see the tension on all my friends faces. Scott shrugged him off. A couple of Jakes friends now stood opposite us, and behind them a large, growing crowd stood watching with interest.

"What'd you just call him?" A blonde guy asked. I recognised him from the lacrosse team.

"A dickwad. but I could've said worse, and it all would've been true." Scott said defiantly. Stiles slapped himself in the head, covering his face.

"Whoa. Scott, look, we're friends, why are you getting so defensive about this?!" Jake asked, hands up signalling peace.

"Well it's just a bit suspicious that on the same night Meredith gets spiked, you're the guy who happens to be humping her like there's no tomorrow." Boyd interjected.

"What?" Snapped Reese, who now stood beside me. I placed a hand on his chest, trying to calm him down.

"It was nothi-" before I could finish, Reese took a threatening step forward.

"You took advantage of my baby sister?! You sick bastard!"

"No, no!" Jake protested, arms out and hands up in protest.

"Of course he wasn't, Meredith practically threw herself at him. Seems she's a bit of a slut to be honest. First Derek Hale, then Jake and now it seems like all you guys seem jealous. Has she been fooling around with you all behind everyone's backs?" Another guy said. Jake shot him a 'shut up' look and the crowd fell silent, waiting for my sides reply.

"What the fuck did you just call my sister?!" Reese thundered, barrelling forward. Jackson and Boyd held him back. In an instant, Derek stood in front of me, facing Jake and his friends.

"Walk away now." he told them, his voice low and eerily calm. They looked at him in disbelief.

"Come to defend that bitch? Well I can te-" The blonde guy was cut off suddenly as Derek slammed his fist into his cheek. He crumpled to the ground, and two of his friends started forward on Derek who was immediately backed up by the whole Pack. Before they could touch any of the Pack though, a couple of Reese's friends barrelled into them from behind, tackling them to the floor. Reese joined in beating them up, and three other kids started on the Pack. Jake was looking at me apologetically, but was jerked into action when Stiles' knee connected with his stomach.

"Whoa, dude, I'm so sorry, I have no control over my limbs-"Stiles started, but was cut off when Jake spun and aimed for Stiles' chest, but Stiles averted the blow and Jake managed to catch his shoulder. Boyd and Isaac joined Stiles quickly and before I could see what happened, Jake was on the floor after being beat up by two doses of werewolf strength. Derek was fighting the first guy, who'd stood back up slowly, and I watched in awe as he took of his leather jacket and within seconds held him in a headlock. He kicked him in the back and once again the guy fell to the floor. Derek turned to help Erica and Jackson who were fighting two other guys and within thirty seconds, the whole group were on the floor. The Pack stepped away slowly, and Reese and his friends high-fived. The crowd who were five seconds ago screaming and shouting, eagerly calling out praise to their favourites fell silent and dispersed within another two seconds. I quickly saw why. Mr Gangrade and a couple of other teachers were walking our way, including my mother, who had a look of pure shock and confusion on her face. I heard police sirens drawing nearer and looked around, realising how bad this looked. There were eight big guys all on the lacrosse team unconscious on the floor, surrounded by a group of kids and one guy who didn't even go to this school, and I was stuck in the middle.

* * *

"It's a miracle nobody had to go to hospital!" Declared Mr Gangrade. "As it is, we will have half a team for Fridays lacrosse game! Will anyone tell me why this happened?"

We all looked at each other, sat on the other side of the desk. Derek had managed to get away before the police had arrived, and so far no one had mentioned him. The eight other boys were all being checked out by paramedics and I sat with the pack (excluding Allison and Lydia), my brother and two of his friends in the principal's office. He sighed.

"If you won't tell me, I'll just have to give a detention to everyone involved. McCall and Reese you get four weeks after school everyday, Boyd, Stiles, Jackson, Erica, Max and Jared you can have two weeks the same and Ms. Greene you can have a weeks. Be glad I didn't see the whole thing." He said, then rattled off a speech about the school's rules, identity and reputation. When we were finally released, I have them all a grateful hug. Reese offered everyone a lift home in the back of his truck, but his friends each had cars, and the wolves were happy to walk. We drove home in silence, until Reese asked,

"Meredith, do I want to know who that guy was and why your friends were mad at him?" I smiled at him apologetically.

"Probably not."

"Or whether that creepy-ass drug dealer guy was the infamous Derek Hale?"

I shook my head.  
He nodded, and exhaled. "You do know Mom's gonna kill us. And then Dad when he gets home."

"Hey, I didn't hit anybody! I shouldn't even get detention!" Reese gave me the evil eyes.

"If I'm going down, you're coming with me."

* * *

**A/N-**** Firstly, I am SO SORRY for not updating for ages, my life has been hectic what with Christmas and exams at school, so yeah. Please forgive me? If I give you Tyler Posey will you? :) **

**Secondly, (just a warning, this is going to be a LONG AN, so sorry in advance. If you're not into all the AN-ing then feel free to skip this :) ) I only just realised the ANs for the last two chapters didn't upload for some reason (I'm a total fail at computers so sorry) so I wanted to say a coupla things about those. **

**So, chapter 8:OMFG Stiles has a GIRLFRIEND! YAY! AND MEREDITH GOT OFF WITH A GUY OTHER THAN DEREK! And Derek was over protective :) And Meredith's in hospital! Whoa, it's like drama central here!**

**And then in chapter 9, some total creepers found Meredith. THE ALPHA PACK HAVE ARRIVED. Prepare for PLOT people!:D And Derek told Mer to stay away from them! What a jackass! But he must have had a reason for it...which will be unveiled in later chapters :) I'm evil...sorry :)**

**AND NOW: Ah, couldn't have the Pack stay away from Meredith now could we? They never listen to Derek! And then there was a fight between the Pack and Jake and his friends! If I didnt know any better I'd say Derek was jealous of Jake... And what are they all talking about with Derek?What is there to understand and why is Derek so defensive about it...? :D**

**Thirdly, I just wanna say THANKYOU! I have like 42 follows and over TWENTY favourites! And all the reviews! Just..thankyou, it means so much! Please keep doing it, I LOVE hearing what you have to say about each chapters! **

**And finally...I am thinking of doing a firefighter!Derek story, because, come on that would be HOT. But I'm not sure whether to do another OC or a Sterek fanfic, which I would LOVE to do, because I ship them so HARD except I'm a teenage girl, and I don't know much about slash, and I want to do those guys justice! So please comment in the reviews what you think about that, it would mean a lot :D And be on the lookout for another fic coming your way soon, after this one's finished! **

**WOW I'm as bad as Stiles at rambling, so sorry. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven  
"Safe in his arms"**

That night, I woke suddenly, my eyes snapping open before I could think as to why. I sat up slowly, groaning. The room was empty and the house was completely silent. I slumped back down onto my pillow, and willed for sleep. Then I heard it again. Whispered voices. I bolted upright, severely creeped out because they seemed to e coming from outside. I padded to my window, shivering from the sudden cold that hit me when I left the warmth of my duvet. I peeked round the curtain, and peered into the darkness below.

"...I can't believe this!" A familiar voice was saying. "I've got a chemistry test tomorrow that I need to pass, because hello! Mr Harris! And yet here I am freezing my ass off because of Derek. Does he not understand that I need to graduate high school?!"

"Dude, you think I'm happy to be here, listening to you moan about your nerd issues? I could be getting it on with Lydia right now," Grumbled another.

"Getting it on? How did you _ever_ get a girlfriend?!"

"I could say the same for you."

I frowned in confusion when I realised who the voices belonged to. Stiles and Jackson. Why were they sitting outside on my front lawn? I slowly went down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible. I didn't need my parents to be mad at me anymore than they already were. As I neared the front door, I heard them again.

"...stuck in detention for the rest of our lives after that fight! Stupid werewolves and their tempers," Stiles complained. I could almost see Jacksons eye roll.

"It's only three weeks, dumb ass. Now shut up, I'm trying to listen. Derek would kill us if something happened while we were supposed to be here 'guarding' his precious Me-" I slammed the door open, being careful to keep it ajar, so I wouldn't get locked out and Stiles jumped about a foot in the air, arms windmilling and legs kicking out in a spasming star jump in true Stiles style.

"Jesus Christ!" He cried. I nearly laughed at his face, but I suppressed it, glaring at them both instead.

"What are you doing here?! Are you supposed to be spying on me to make sure I don't get into anymore trouble?!" I demanded.

"No..." Stiles started, but trailed of knowing it was useless when he saw the look on my face.

"Stiles, tell me what you're doing here." They were both sat against the wall, wrapped up in layers of clothes and coats.

"Derek's put the Pack on a sort of guarding schedule. He wanted us to make sure that if the Alph- if those guys came back again, someone would be here to protect you." He said, guiltily.

"If it's any consolation, we didn't really want to be here either." Jackson put in. I ignored him.

"I don't need anyone to protect me!" I protested, angry that Derek had made my friends camp out in the freezing November nights because he was so weirdly protective.

Jackson shrugged. "You kind of do..."

"I don't! I wish everyone would stop treating me like I'm fragile and need help with everything. You guys aren't even supposed to be speaking to me, yet he has you watching me every second of the day?!"

"I think he kinda knows about the fact we ignored him. It's sort of expected, actually." Stiles said.  
I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Go home! I don't care what Derek says, I don't want you here!"

"Meredith, we can't really do that..." Jackson started apologetically.

"Yes, you can!" I near shouted.  
"You're going to wake the whole neighbourhood up in a minute." Stiles said, nervously looking down the street. "Mer, I'm really sorry- we can't leave you. We actually agree with Derek on this one."

I sighed in frustration.

"Just go back to bed, Meredith." It was tempting. My eyes and limbs were heavy from lack of sleep, but my anger was keeping me awake. I want sure why I was so angry, but I really hated feeling vulnerable, as if someone had to look after me. And Derek was such a jerk if he thought he could choose who I could and couldn't speak to, and then swan in to my life when he felt like it. No matter how defined his abs were.

"I will once you go home." They both sighed and Stiles stepped forward.

"Well you might as well sit out here with us, because it'll be a long night." He pulled my arm, and before I could stop it, my door shut behind me.

"Stiles!" I cried at him. I tried to push at the door, knowing it was futile. "Look what you did! I'm locked out, you idiot!" He looked sheepish.

"Oops..."

I groaned in frustration.  
"What am I supposed to do now?! I refuse to sit out here with you guys! I don't even have socks on!" I looked down at my bare legs and arms, covered only by a thin camisole vest and shorts, and I had no underwear to speak of on. I was already shivering, away from the warmth of the house. My arms were covers in goose bumps, and my feet felt numb against the cold concrete of the step.

"Mer, I'm really sorry! I didn't realise that the door would lock automatically!" Stiles said. "I'll take you in my jeep." I nodded.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm not sure yet...Jackson you stay here, I'll take Meredith...somewhere, and I'll see you tomorrow ok? Call me or Derek or someone if you need anything."

"I know dumbass." Jackson said, and slumped back under his pile of blankets. Stiles walked me to his Jeep which was parked a way down the street, shrugging off his coat and wrapping it around my shoulders. By the time we reached it, I could barely open the door my hands were shaking so badly.

"I'm really sorry, Mer..." Stiles started again.

"Don't worry Stiles. Just take me someplace warm where I can sleep. My parents are so going to kill me..." He set off, turning the heating up to full blast, and within a minute, I started to defrost. I curled up in a ball in the passenger seat, rubbing my toes. Within seconds, I was asleep again.

* * *

Stiles pulled up outside the derelict house, and within seconds Derek emerged, in just a pair of pyjama bottoms.

"What's going on?" He asked, as Stiles got out the car. Then he saw Meredith in the passenger seat. "Is she ok?!" He started forward in panic.

"She's fine...she just, um...sorta got locked out. I tried to call Allison but no answer from her phone, and everyone else is on patrol tonight. So can she stay here with you?" Stiles asked nervously.

"How'd she get locked out?" Derek growled.

"Um...long story. Anyway..." Stiles walked round to where Meredith was curled up beneath his coat, sound asleep, her warm breath fogging the window, as her head was rested upon the cold glass. He lifts her from the car, and she shifted in his arms, her toes curling at the sudden exposure to the cold night air. Derek quickly stepped forward, holding his arms out. Stiles transferred Meredith into Derek's arms, and Derek nearly gasped at how light and fragile she was. Didn't the girl eat? Meredith stirred, shifting so she was curled against Derek's bare chest, her lips pressed against his neck, and Derek felt his inner wolf purr. He looked down at her sleeping face, clean of any make up, her long hair tied in a messy bun, exposing her pale neck. She was freezing and Derek rubbed her arms with his hands, trying to warm her up. Stiles gently pressed his lips to her head, and Derek was snapped out of his bubble of thoughts of the girl in his arms.

"Are you two...?" Derek asked, unable to finish, surprising himself by how he even cared. The girl was none of his business.

Stiles screwed his nose up. "Ew, no! Oh, no offence, dude, Scott told me you-" Derek cut him off with a growl.

"Well anyway," Stiles continued hurriedly, "I don't see Meredith that way- I'm into her sister, who is totally hot. Not that Meredith isn't attractive or whatever, but..." Stiles babbled nervously, then trailed off as Derek's frown increased. "Well I'm going to be going now, anyway. Jackson will be waiting." Derek nodded good bye as Stiles got into the Jeep.

"Thank you." He said quietly to Stiles, who nodded.

"No worries. She's Pack." He started the jeep, blinding Derek momentarily with the headlights and was gone. Derek turned slowly to his house and was inside within three steps. The girl shifted again, and murmured something into his neck. He smiled at the feeling.

"Derek..." he heard her mutter groggily. "'M tired..."

"It's okay, Meredith." He said gently, walking up the stairs as slowly and gently as he could, trying not to disturb the half asleep girl too much. "You're safe." He carried her to Isaac's bedroom, laying her onto his bed. He left the room quickly before he lost control of his wolf, panicking as to why he was acting like this.

* * *

I lay in silence, staring into the dark at the ceiling. I could tell I was in Isaac's room- I could make out the lacrosse uniform slung over a chair and the white number on his jersey stood out in the gloom. As soon as my heat- deprived body had left the warmth of Derek's chest, I'd involuntarily woken up. I still couldn't get over how I'd been pressed against DEREK HALE'S BARE CHEST, and I'd been half asleep for it. I'd only realised as my eyes had opened, just as he walked out the door. And now I couldn't get to sleep. I kept thinking about all the lives that had ended in this house- which Derek had lived alone in for years afterwards after his sister had died. I thought of how Derek's family had been left here, burning alive in the fire, and now he was the only one left, alone. The amount of times he must have imagined his family members' last breaths... I could see why he acted the way he did.  
Unable to relax my mind, I finally swung my legs out of the bed and crept across the room. I stumbled downstairs, feeling my way across the hall. I turned the light switch on in the living room, and walked idly around, unsure what to do with myself, knowing Derek was just upstairs, asleep. The glowing digital numbers of the clock on the DVD player told me it was 1:57. I groaned, knowing that tomorrow I was going to be exhausted if I didn't get to sleep soon. I didn't even want to think about what I would tell my parents. I spotted Derek's collection of CDs and walked over slowly, unable to think of something else to do. I flicked through, surprised he had very similar tastes to me; there were loads of alternative bands- Muse, The Vaccines, The Strokes, then loads of others I hadn't heard of, a soundtrack to a weird old film I didn't recognise, the Black Keys- I smiled to myself when I thought of him listening to _'Howlin' for you_.' There was also a lot of classical jazz and then loads of others that the Pack must have added. Overall, there were way over a hundred CDs on the pile. I flipped one CD over, looking at the list of tracks on the back, when a dark voice said behind me,

"That one's great for workouts."

I spun round quickly, and my eyes widened as Derek walked into the room, pulling a navy T-shirt over his head.  
"Hi" I said smiling nervously, self conscious in my cami and shorts.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked. I looked up at him, knowing I couldn't lie to him.

"Actually...your house kind of creeps me out..." I admitted.

"Oh," he said, his frown deepening. "I'm sorry."

"No! I'm sorry! I've just watched too many Doctor Who's!" I said, feeling bad.

"How'd you know I was down here? I was trying to be careful. Sorry if I woke you up..."

He shrugged. "Werewolf hearing. I heard your heartbeat change." His face switched back to its usual hardness. "You need to sleep." He said, taking charge as per usual.

"I know."

"Well, come on, then." He exited the room quickly, and I hurried to catch up with him on the stairs. He led me to the room at the end of the hall. I'd never been upstairs before. The room he led me to was simple, yet worked. It had dark wooden furniture; a desk, bookshelf crammed with paperbacks and king sized bed. One wall was covered in framed photographs. Without thinking, I walked over to them. I recognised Derek in a couple of the pictures; surrounded by people I guessed were his family. It was strange to see him when he was younger, looking up at his parents, his siblings, his family with pure love and adoration. In one photo, I recognised a Derek about seven years old. He had the same dark hair, although it was ruffled, not in the perfect quiff of today, and was smiling broadly at someone off camera to the side, his front teeth missing, a baseball bat in his hands. I smiled.

"Cute." I turned to face him, and he was stood beside the bed, the duvets on which were thrown back. I looked at him blankly.

"You can sleep here," he growled. "I'll wait for you to fall asleep."  
I nodded and climbed in, pulling the still-warm duvet over myself. I shuffled until I got comfy, and Derek rolled his eyes. Once I was done, he sat on the edge of the bed, then leant over me to turn off the lamp. I held my breath, knowing he would hear my change in heartbeat as his stubble-lined jaw neared my lips. It switched off, and the room darkened, and I could only just make out Derek's silhouette. He reached on the floor, and sat back up, a book in his hands.

"You can read that?" I asked.

"Yeah. I have better night vision than humans. Now go back to sleep." He muttered. I did.

* * *

Derek slowly sat upright, leaning against the headboard. He looked down to where Meredith was curled up against him, one leg sprawled across his lap. She shifted as he moved, and he stilled suddenly, trying not to disturb her. He pushed the duvet off himself, burning up. His body temperature was always running a lot higher than humans and he wasn't used to wearing pyjamas in bed; he usually just fell asleep in shorts. And it wasn't helped by the fact that the girl was asleep, in his bed, right beside him. How had this happened? The paperback he had been reading earlier was open on the floor beside him, and he realised he must've dropped off at some point- he'd been exhausted, what with all the stress of the return of the alpha pack and all the nightly shifts and patrols he'd been doing. The rest of the Pack had insisted he stayed at home that night, considering he hadn't slept for a week. He squinted at his clock, which was on the bedside table on the other side of his bed. It was half past five in the morning. He would usually go for a long run at this time of morning, but temptation made him stay in the bed, the girl's steady breathing relaxing him for the first time for a long while, knowing she was safe. Subconsciously, he took a deep breath of her scent. Her own unique scent. It really was intoxicating. When he'd first met her she'd smelt almost completely of another man- who he now knew to be her brother, and blurted out that she stank. He couldn't have been more wrong. She smelt of a simple vanilla, it reminded him of both spring mornings and autumn evenings, so simple and subtle yet so powerful. She never had to wear perfume, and even when she spent a whole day with someone, their scent rarely rubbed off onto hers; her smell was so powerful. He growled quietly at himself, shaking the thoughts from his head. Scott was wrong. What'd he know, anyway? He was a teenager, and not exactly the smartest one at that. But he found himself gazing down at Meredith, her face clear of worries, her full dark lips pouting subconsciously, slightly open. A few strands of hair had escaped the bun, and wisps framed her face, her long eyelashes stroking her cheekbones. Her heartbeat was slow, steady; content. He found himself lulled into relaxation, until her heartbeat suddenly rose. He looked down at her, as she stirred, then froze when she murmured;

"Mmm...you're hot..." In her half-asleep state, she seemed to realise what she'd said, and quickly added, "You know, like you're warm. Why are you so warm? It's like cuddling a furnace." Cuddling. He composed himself."Why do you wear pyjamas if you're this hot?"

"These are more for your benefit." He said, smirking. "Now go back to sleep Meredith." He said gently. Slowly but surely her heart rate slowed and when he was finally sure she was asleep, he crept from the room.

* * *

**A/N- OMG 50 follows! THANKYOU so much! And for the reviews! It means so much to me that you all cared so much, your reviews put a massive smile on my face! I'm so glad that you all are enjoying it so much! **

**So, yeah,what is Scott saying to Derek about Meredith...? And are the Alpha Pack coming back? And what will Meredith's reactions be when she finds out...? :D **

**Basically, just THANKS SO MUCH! **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N- **

**Okay, so it's been, like three months since I last updated. I know, I'm a terrible person. But there's only a few chapters left :( and I wanted to finish this fic really well, so it's taken me a while to get the plot perfected and then to actually write it, and basically**

**I AM SO SORRY! **

**But I also wanted to say, a massive thank you to all the new readers, reviewers, favouriters and followers (and of course all my older ones, who have stuck by this the whole time! :) ) It means so much to me! So, that's pretty much it really, I hope you enjoy it, please review what your thoughts are, because that always helps the writers block and is also a great self esteem booster! :D**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve  
"Denial"**

When I woke up, I instantly missed the warmth that had been with me all night. I stretched out across the empty bed sheets then realised where I was and what had actually just happened. I HAD JUST SLEPT IN THE SAME BED AS DEREK HALE. DEREK HALE HAD BEEN ASLEEP BESIDE ME. I grinned. Then my face dropped as I glimpsed the time on his clock. 6:48. I was dead. I scrambled out of the bed, and thundered downstairs. I heard voices and loud music coming from the kitchen, and shot inside. The whole pack turned to stare at me as I appeared in the doorway. Stiles was at the stove, making endless pancakes, while everyone else was either joining in (Allison, Lydia, Erica, and Isaac) or sat at the table (Jackson, Scott and Boyd) wolfing them down. Huh, wolfing them down. I'm so funny.

"Sleep well?" Jackson asked, teasingly with a smug smirk on his face. Everyone apart from Derek, who I realised was the only member of the pack not present, snickered. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but blush.

"It's not funny. You do realise that my parents are going to kill me! Everyone will be awake by now, and I'm not gonna be there- they'll be out of their minds worrying," I said, pacing up and down the room, panicking. "Stilinski, I blame you!"

"Don't worry about that." Stiles said, "Jackson managed to get into your bedroom and find your phone. We messaged your parents saying that Allison had asked you to sleep over because she was having a rough night coping with her moms death, so you thought you'd be okay to go there."

"Oh, so you couldn't find a way into my room last night when I was downstairs freezing?! You had to wait until I'd gone?" I asked, squeezing through Allison and Scott to sit at the table. The whole Pack were dressed and rest to go to school.

Jackson smirked. "Well, I'm sure you'd rather have stayed here."

"Yeah, I think this might be the first time we've ever seen Derek in pyjamas. Pretty ironic, because we'd all have thought he wouldn't have anything on," Scott said. The whole room groaned, myself included.

"Really? That's the best you could come up with?" Stiles muttered.

I rolled my eyes, knowing comments like these would be unavoidable for, say, the REST OF MY LIFE.

* * *

I laughed along with the Pack at Jackson making fun of Stiles (as per usual). We were all crowded in my kitchen, along with my brother, a large group of his friends, my sister and her friends and then the remainder of the Lacrosse team (minus the guys the Pack had put out of commission two days earlier). It had been my brothers idea to host a 'Good Luck' party for the upcoming lacrosse game the next night. When I say pack I of course mean the Pack minus Derek. Because he of course had avoided me the whole day. But still, I wasn't dwelling on that. Nope, not all.

(Okay, so maybe I hadn't thought of anything else all day. But there was no shame in that. )

Stiles just shrugged it off, laughing along and continued baking the endless supply of brownies. There was loud pop music playing, much to my annoyance, but my brother had overruled me on song choice, so I was enduring some Kanye West. Stiles appeared beside me and served his fifth plate of brownies and the wolves quickly grabbed for them. I rolled my eyes and took the last one before one of the boys snatched it up. As I ate it, I became slowly aware of everyone's eyes on me.

"Um, hi?" I asked. Lydia raised her eyebrows at me expectantly.

"Meredith, you've been avoiding this all day. What actually happened last night? As part of Derek's-" she looked over at my brother and sister on the other side of the room and lowered her voice- "Pack, we have a right to know."

I sighed. "NOTHING happened!" They all looked at me disbelievingly. I rolled my eyes.

"Where is Derek anyway?" I asked, trying not to sound too curious.

"He went for a run. Personally, I think to get rid of all that sexual frustration." Lydia said, smirking. The table burst into laughter again.

"We did plan to have a Pack Meeting tonight, but Scott told him we all couldn't go because of a school project, and he doesn't know we're here," Allison told me, slightly more helpfully.

"So...?" Lydia continued.

"So...what?" I asked.

"Tell us what happened!"

I sighed, exasperatedly. "Nothing happened!" I got up from the table.  
There were a couple from glances from the other side of the room as my voice rose an octave or two.  
" I don't know why you are all obsessed with me and Derek! Nothing has, nor will it ever happen." I protested, lowering my voice. It was bad enough my family were quizzing me about the 'dark, mysterious hero' who had defended my honour the other day at school (Lizbeth's version) or the 'creepy, drug dealer dude' who was willing to get involved in some high school fight to satisfy his lust for violence (Reese's version).

"You're no fun!" Lydia complained. I grinned at her, grabbing her hands and danced cheesily to the music. The Pack just laughed as she started slapping my butt with her floury hands, leaving white handprints, and everyone else started joining in, my brother looking like he was about to have a coronary from all the male attention my butt was receiving. "I take it back, you are fun," she said, laughing. I heard the door ring, and my mum call that she was going to answer it.

"Well duh!" Stiles said. "Didn't you see her at the Halloween party?! I so wish we could get you drunk again, Mer that was..." he trailed off, his eyes looking behind me. The Pack had fallen silent. I spun round to see Derek in the doorway, watching with a bemused face. Kill me now.  
My mum appeared beside him. "A Mr Derek Hale's here to see you, Scott," she told him, shooting me a confused glance. I gave her my best innocent look, trying not to blush too hard at what Derek had just witnessed. Suddenly, my brother walked forward, sizing him up. Derek stood watching him approach calmly.  
I held my breath, then Reese pulled Derek in a hug, which Derek awkwardly reciprocated, arms stiff, frown still firmly plastered upon his face, but I could've sworn I saw it relax for a second. He avoided all eye contact with me.

"Thanks for standing up for my sister, man," Reese said. Derek nodded awkwardly. "Even if you are a drug dealing creep with no appropriate outlets for your aggression."

Derek just nodded again, looking like he was trying hard not to laugh, but then schooled his expression back in to his trademark frown. Looking at Scott seemed to help with that.

"Hey Derek..." Scott started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Scott." He barely acknowledged the Pack, sounding particularly angry with him. The rest of the team and my siblings and their friends were looking confused. He jerked a thumb to the hall, and Scott followed reluctantly. The Pack all smirked at each other. "I'll deal with you all next," he growled, and that wiped the smiles off their faces, although not enough to deter them from creeping to the closed kitchen door and pressing their ears to the door. I figured they did that to cover up the fact that they would hear the conversation supernaturally in front of the unknowing humans.

"What are they saying?" Stiles mouthed to Erica. She whispered very quietly- so that the other humans wouldn't hear- back,

"Derek's angry with Scott because he was supposed to be at tonight's Pack meeting and just this morning Derek told Scott to be there."

"Oh crap." Stiles said. "I bet Scott forgot to tell him. Why did we decide to let Scott be the one to let him know?! Derek's gonna kill Scott and then us!"

Erica growled angrily. "If Derek doesn't hurry up, I'm going to kill Scott first- I told him to tell Derek we couldn't make it tonight! I can't believe Derek found us here! Scott's so-" She broke off as the door slammed open, pushing the Pack back, to reveal a severely pissed off Derek and a very shocked Scott, his mouth shaped in a comical 'o'.

"Erica," he growled, his face dark, "get out here now."

She was yanked into the hall. The Pack didn't dare eavesdrop again, and stood nervously until they returned. Thankfully, my siblings and their friends had migrated to the living area, so they weren't weirded out by this behaviour.  
I sat at the table with Allison, who didn't look at all worried about what a possible-serial-killing-Alpha could be doing to her boyfriend. Even if said Alpha was extremely hot.  
With a bang that had Reese turning to shoot us a curious glance, they emerged into the kitchen.

"Why the hell did no one turn up to the Pack meeting? " Derek demanded of the Pack. "You know we had some...SERIOUS...stuff to sort out." Stiles glanced at me, and I nearly missed it, unlike Derek who slapped him round the head.

"Ow!" Stiles whined, rubbing his head.

Derek's eyebrows were practically touching as his frown deepened, and his eyes flashed.

"For GODS sake! Why the-" he broke off, breathing heavily, avoiding swearing, "um...hell did no one tell me?! And why the _hell_ are you all here, when I specifically gave you orders NOT to talk to her! Did you think you could lie to me?!" He glared at me, as if this was all my fault. I looked away. He exhaled angrily when no one answered, staring at their feet.  
"This is why we need Pack meetings, dammit! We never communicate, we're barely even a Pack! None of you can defend yourselves properly, we've got four humans, most of whom couldn't swat a fly. We're weak! When the-" he broke off suddenly. The Pack all exchanged looks, while I stood like a lemon, fidgeting and confused as to how to react, still embarrassed from what Derek had witnessed five minutes earlier. Lydia stepped towards Derek, glaring at Scott so hard I thought her eyeballs would turn him to stone. Scott shuffled guiltily, and probably a little frightened too under the intensity of that glare.

"Derek, we understand that we've got important stuff going on, but we also have important lives, which you cannot dictate. Meredith is our friend, and she's still fairly new around here, did you think we'd just ditch her? _Especially _after those two guys spoke to her? We can't stalk her and just let her go around not knowing what's going on. We're all under stress, we wanted a night off all the wolf crap for once. We're_ teenagers,_ Derek. You've still got no chest hair- you must have been a teenager once. Unless you wax it, but considering you live in a burned out shell of a house, I'm guessing that's not likely." Allison and Erica giggled at that. "We did try to tell you, but our _messenger_"- she shot Scott a look that could kill-"forgot. We didn't mean to just not turn up. We're sorry." The whole Pack nodded, solemnly.

Before either Derek or Scott could say anything, my mother appeared in the kitchen.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering whether you'd like to stay for dinner, Mr. Hale? We will certainly have enough," she asked. To say Derek looked astonished was an understatement. His eyebrows skyrocketed and I swear he nearly leapt backwards in surprise. His eyes flickered to mine and I locked mine on his, for once. He seemed to be asking permission and I smiled encouragingly.

"Yes...Yes please, if that would be no trouble..." He said, and if I didn't know any better I'd say he sounded nervous.

"Of course it isn't, honey." She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but just smiled sweetly and disappeared to start rummaging in the cupboards.

"I'll help, Mrs G!" Allison said, and rushed forward. After that, we were all roped into helping out, the wolf boys to carry various things, and the girls to stir the many pots bubbling away on the hob. Stiles had managed to sneak away, and was now sitting with Lizbeth curled in his lap, 'supervising', shooting Reese, who was continuously cracking his knuckles threateningly, nervous glances every ten seconds.  
I was left at the table in the midst of it all, with Derek sitting opposite me, who was not allowed to help because he was a 'proper guest'. I just wasn't allowed to help because it 'wasn't safe for any of us if Meredith goes near hot, sharp and slippery things'. Derek was still seething at his Pack, who were avoiding all his glares, but slowly I could see it fade in his dark eyes as he slowly relaxed.

"PLEASE can someone change the 'music'?" I said exasperatedly. "Come on, you surely can't be enjoying this!" I complained, over the Rihanna song playing.

"Sorry Mer, you were overruled," Scott shrugged.

"Scott, just change the freaking music, what is this crap anyway?" Derek growled from across the table. I spun in surprise that he was backing me up, but he still avoided eye contact.

"No way dude, we had a vote!" Scott replied, suddenly a lot more confident disagreeing with his Alpha now that my mom was in the room. Derek just glared, then sighed,

"Some people have no music taste."

"I know, right?!" I replied, exasperatedly. He turned to me, one eyebrow raised. Wow that was hot.

He nodded slowly. "So, you like Muse...what else?" he asked, attempting conversation.

"Um...I like Kasabian, Lana Del Rey, _all_ eighties music, the Killers, the Vaccines, but mostly the Naked and Famous and Kids of 88."  
A gorgeous half-smile appeared on his face.

" Cool, you have good taste. Have you listened to Foals new album?"

I shrugged. "Never heard of them."

"I'll lend you it sometime," he said, and properly grinned. Woah. And, there goes the function of my brain. "...you know, maybe, if you wanted to?" He added, looking sheepish. I nodded, and the grin reappeared.

"What about...Bastille?" I shook my head.

"Imagine Dragons?" Nope.

"The 1975?" I shook my head again.

"Jeez, do you know any recent music?!"

"Um, I'm the one that was in the coma, excuse me for not knowing more recent bands!" I meant it jokingly, but his face fell back to its usual scowl, and I felt the entire Pack's eyes on me.

"Right, sorry," he said, gruffly. I winced. Why did he close himself off whenever anything serious happened? Hesitantly, I said,

"It's okay, you have nothing to be sorry for."  
He looked up, his eyes delving into mine. Most of the time at least one of us was avoiding the other, and it wasn't until now that I realised just how beautiful a colour his eyes were. The outer iris was a dark grey, but around the pupil, which was blown wide right now, there was a ring of vibrant green that bled into the almost silver colour surrounding it.

"Stiles!" My mum called, and Derek's head snapped away I was yanked back to reality. "Can you watch them in the kitchen please, make sure nothing gets burnt!"

Stiles smiled sickeningly sweetly, even thought she wasn't in the room to see it, "Of course, Mrs G!"

"I've told you before, call me Poppy!"

"Sure thing, sorry!"

"Urgh, Stiles you kiss-ass" I said, smiling at him across the room.

He shrugged. "What can I say, the ladies love me. I have that natural charm, good looks and-" he broke off as Lizbeth punched him in the arm. "OW!" he cried, his voice one octave higher.

"Yeah, because you're oh-so manly," Scott snorted.

"Hey!" Stiles cried indignantly. "I am manly!"

"Sure," Lizbeth said, and the whole room burst into laughter at her 'why do I put up with this?' expression.

He nudged her with his shoulder. "You love me really."

She nodded and gave him a cute peck on the cheek.

"Whoa, whoa guys break it up before Reese's eyes pop out of their sockets," I called, and someone- I swear it was Isaac- wolf-whistled. Stiles broke away, blushing, and I grinned. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Derek grinning too, teeth and all. For some reason, that made me smile wider.

* * *

"Thanks for the heads up, guys!" I hissed at the werewolves in front of me. Stiles was laughing silently, and Isaac had an innocent look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Mer, but his face when he walked in was priceless!" Scott said.

"I can't believe this!" I groaned. I looked across the room to where Derek had unwillingly been pulled into a conversation with my brother and his friends who seemed to be interrogating him. "That was the most embarrassing thing to ever have happened to me! Lydia I blame you for this!"

She put her hands up in surrender. "Hey, I didn't know Derek would be coming into your house...and you know, watching me slap your butt. On the bright side, though, he was totally jealous," Lydia added.

"Please Lydia, he was not, you're all so obsessed you can't see straight!" I said. "Urgh, god, my life is an embarrassment! God, after the past 24 hours, I'm never gonna be able to face him again."

"You don't have to, I'm sure he'd be up for the other way round..." Jackson said. Lydia hit him for me.

"Why do I let you touch me?!"

He smirked. "Not what you were saying last night..." The whole table groaned this time. Derek looked over towards the kitchen at the noise.

"Are you guys looking forward to the game tomorrow?" I asked the boys, eager to change the subject.

"Oh, yeah, it's your first lacrosse game, Meredith, isn't it?" Stiles said. I nodded.

"It's only the first game of the season. It's not going to be particularly exciting," Jackson shrugged.

"Don't worry. You haven't missed out on much." Lydia told me. "It's probably the most boring thing you'll ever do. But school spirit and all that..."

"You like it really." Jackson nudged her shoulder. "You get to see me in tight trousers." She just snorted.

"Dinner's ready!" Called my mum and suddenly the table was surrounded by hungry teenagers. And Derek. Who was sitting right beside me, his knee jolting into mine as Scott barged past him to grab a couple of fries. But I was trying to not let that affect me, not when there was a whole room of werewolves who would hear my heartbeat spike irregularly. When Erica shot me a smirk, I realised I was failing. Just then, I heard the front door open and close, and the familiar sound of my dad kicking off his shoes and the rustle of his coat being hung in the closet.

"Hello everyone!" He said cheerily, his eyes taking in the crowded kitchen, and his eyes flickered on Derek for a second too long, then passed on. "Mind if I join you?" He didn't wait for a reply, and squeezed in between my mum and Lizbeth so he was directly opposite Derek.  
"So, young man, what's your name?"

Well...this was going to be fun.

* * *

**AN 2.0- Because it's been so long, I'm uploading chapter 13 as well on friday, which is the 26th of April, and then after that there'll be about 2 or 3 more chapters to go! I'll try uploading them as soon as I can, but I'm doing my GCSEs this year, and exams are coming up but I'll do my best!**

**In the mean time, for any sterek fans (my OTP) I am writing a fanfic with famous!Stiles and baseballplayer!Derek, WOOHOO. We all need more of that in our lives, so look out for it! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen****  
"Family dinner's are the best"**

"So young man, what's your name?"

Derek shifted in his chair, and looked straight into my father's face. It probably looked intimating to most people but I knew Derek looked at everyone like that, head on and intense. Sitting right beside him though, I couldn't make out his expression, and instead I focused on my dad's reactions. The rest of the table was watching interestedly too, and all other conversations ceased. After a long pause, Derek replied with the truth.

"Derek Hale, sir." My dad nodded slowly.

"Hale as in Peter Hale's nephew?"

Derek nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"The same Derek Hale who left the hospital AMA after being brought in on a rig with such a deep laceration that it reached the _kidneys_ a couple of months ago?" He continued and I ducked my head at the few laughs from the Pack who remembered that incident.  
Derek shifted again, gripping the table tightly,

"Yes sir, the very same one." Dad's eyebrows rose slowly, putting a forkful of food into his mouth.

"How did that turn out?"

Derek shrugged, and in answer stood up and lifted his shirt slightly to reveal his smooth flawless abs. Whoa. Obviously the sights affect on my heart rate was apparent as the various wolves around the table glanced knowingly at me. My dad just nodded, a puzzled look on his face, but he didn't look shocked.

"So Derek," my mum cut in, obviously trying to change subject, "how do you know Scott and the others?"

Why were my parents so nosy?! Ground swallow me up please.

"He used to go to BHHS before we did," Stiles said quickly when Derek's face remained blank, "and he was Captain of the Lacrosse team. Anyway, Scott wanted some tips and...er we all kind of got to know each other after that."

"Captain of the lacrosse team, huh?"

Derek nodded modestly. Guiltily, I realised I'd barely even considered his life before the fire.

"But baseball was more my thing." He said with a smile. My mouth curled as I remembered the picture of a young Derek holding a baseball bat hanging in his room.

"Didn't you get an offer from Stanford?" Asked Jared, one of my brother's senior friends from the lacrosse team. Derek glared at him.

"Yes, yes, I did," he said stiffly, shrugging it off. Scott nudged him with his shoulder proudly.

"Really dude?" Jackson asked, shocked. " I'm trying to apply there!"

"Stanford is an Ivy league college, one of the best in the country," Allison whispered in my ear helpfully. Derek turned to us, briefly catching my eye but his flitted away quickly. Wow. But why hadn't Derek accepted? Not looking at me, he leant down the table to reach the salt, and his dark t-shirt brushed against my arms, and I felt goosebumps appear where it touched. I groaned inwardly. How pathetic was that?

"But you didn't go?" Mum continued, voicing everyone's unasked question.

"Bad timing. My family were more important," he said quietly, eyebrows knitting together, shadowing his eyes. The table fell silent, and I realised the whole town— even my parents, new- comers— were aware of the Hale fire.

"Anyone want the last drumstick?" Scott asked, breaking the silence. We all turned to look at him, goofily holding it up sheepishly.

"Hell yeah," Jackson lunged for it and they wrestled over it until Boyd neatly snatched it up and licked it. He smirked at them while they stared in shock at him. And then Stiles being Stiles just bit a huge chunk of it from Boyd's hand.

"Dude! That's disgusting!" Scott groaned. Stiles just winked at him, and Boyd reluctantly handed it over to Stiles. By this point Derek had his head in his hands and my parents looked torn between laughter and disgust.

"So...who's up for dessert?' My mum asked weakly.

* * *

I stood at the sink, washing up, since that was the only job I was trusted with in the kitchen. Even though I had broken countless plates, I guess it was preferable to setting the kitchen on fire. I could hear the various people around the house, my friends had migrated to the garden and their loud conversation wafted through the open back door. My sister was kicking my brothers friend's ass on some video game, and my parents sat with them looking on with what seemed like confusion with teenage kind. I was actually glad for the quiet seclusion, as I didn't have to face a certain leather-jacket-clad wolf after he'd witnessed like, eight different people slapping my butt. I let my mortification overwhelm me as I robotically scrubbed the many dishes.

"Need any help?"

When the low voice appeared behind me, I jerked in surprise, and the current plate slipped from my hands. I lunged for it but Derek got there faster, gracefully sweeping from the doorway to catch it, and he handed it to me carefully before picking up a towel. I shrugged, brain seemingly unable to form words after my surprise.

He just silently picked up a wet plate and dried it quickly, then another one.  
"What?" He asked gruffly, and I quickly turned my eyes back to the sink.

"It's a bit weird seeing an Alpha werewolf do something so mundane as drying the dishes," I said.

His eyebrow quirked. Did I mention I love it when he does that?! "What, did you expect us to lick them clean?"

"No..."

"Ever heard of a dishwasher? It's a modern invention, does this for you?"

"Hey, I've got to earn pocket money somehow," I told him. Suddenly his unusually bright demeanour darkened, but he nodded, continuing his job silently. I searched my brain for what I'd said to make him revert to his usual bad mood.

"So...my dad seems to be less suspicious of you than when he first saw you..." I said, awkwardly filling the silence. He didn't acknowledge I'd said anything. To be honest, I couldn't blame him, and we slipped into a routine. We were near finishing when a low growl came from behind us. Derek spun round, and I followed suit. To my surprise Indigo stood there. She never growled...except the first time we met Derek, I noted curiously. Quickly, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her, burying my face into her neck, and slowly stroked her ears until she calmed down.

"Sorry, she would never do that normally..." I said.

Derek just shrugged, "Happens all the time." I nodded as if I understood; this never happened with Scott or Erica or any of my other friends and they were werewolves. He obviously saw my still blank expression, and rubbed a hand over his face, sighing.

"Basically, because I'm an Alpha I'm automatically more intimidating to werewolves, but also to other dogs and wolves." I looked from Indigo, who was still on edge, to Derek. He suddenly, but calmly, flashed his Alpha-red eyes at Indigo. As soon as his eyes met hers, she went beserk, barking and spitting, trying to pull from my arms. My parents looked over, startled. It must have been the first time we'd ever heard Indigo bark. Derek's eyes quickly reverted to their grey-sea-green, and he moved forward, gently pulling me away from Indigo, frowning in confusion.

"Wha-" I started, but Derek yanked me behind him and Indigo finally stopped barking, looking her usual self. Derek stayed silent for a moment, and Indigo calmly trotted over to us, then jumped up so her paws were on Derek's shoulders and licked him from his chin all the way up to his hair. He started laughing and rolled onto the floor, and let Indigo continue licking him. I stood there in shock, and the back door slid open, revealing the Pack. Erica watched with a knowing smirk on her face, and whispered something to Erica and Allison, who both nodded and smiled, but had Derek turning to glare at her. I wondered what she'd said. At least the guys lasted until Indigo had gotten off of Derek to take advantage of his position on the floor before doing a massive 'pile-on'.

Boys.

* * *

**AN- I know it was way too short, but after this chapter things really start to get going! We're going to be finding more about the Alpha Pack- why they're in Beacon Hills, what happened to Erica and Boyd, why Indigo really didn't like Derek and why she 'forgave' him and also more about Derek and his feelings towards Mer! :) **

**Thanks everyone and I'll be updating soon! :)**


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